The Dawn Archives: Two Afflictions
by HeartBeatFailure-x
Summary: [Second in a planned series] "You're on the wrong side of the cell to be demanding answers, demon" Itachi folded his arms. "Do you have a name?" The demon didn't answer and Itachi took it as a step in the right direction. At least he was listening.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Aaand onto the second one. In all honestly, I think I had this planned, written and almost done (got a little stuck in the middle) before One Night! This one just seemed to grow easier than the other one did - probably my fault for making Dei sick for so long . Anyway! In case it isn't obvious, I will mention that THIS IS SET MAINLY BEFORE/DURING TDA: One Night. It doesn't have much of an impact until the last few chapters, but I think you'll be fine. Enjoy!**

 **OOO**

The demon was indomitable. He continued to hurl himself into the solid walls of his confined cell, firm in his belief that he could break it. He'd been trying it for the past three days, continuous and relentless in his efforts. The medical staff had tried to sedate him more than once a day, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Finally, it had been down to Itachi to greet the insane being that was disturbing the entire Uchiha Corps Facility.

Some of the inmates had even started _bargaining,_ that if they'd shut the demon from across the hall up, knock him out perhaps, then they'd reveal some precious piece of information. It was highly doubtful that they would, but that hadn't been the point. Even _they_ wanted the demon to shut up - and it could easily turn into a mess if all of them riled up at once.

"You need to stop that" Itachi spoke in the same tone he'd use with anyone, but he was hardly heard against the sounds of the raging beast inside the cell. The walls were glass, but infused with a compound that the Uchiha's were also famous for founding. Its properties of strength went unrivalled and the compound could, in theory, be placed into anything. It was work in process, but the glass was their first victory and it had held well since the facility was renovated ten years ago. They'd never had anything break through it, but the demon wasn't giving up.

"You're going to damage yourself" Itachi said, his face unchanging as the hulking body stopped its repetitive shoulder-bashing. He'd been pounding at the far wall, but now turned with his fists clenched, his arms bulging, as he faced Itachi through the glass. He crossed the space between them in a stride and then he placed his hands spaced out on the glass. For a flicker of a second, Itachi felt his spine prickle with anticipation. _What is he doing?_

And then he roared.

The demons eyes sharpened as he did, focussing only on Itachi's face. It was for this reason only that Itachi found himself taking note of the demon's features. His skin was a soft-blue colour, darkening with every second of his rage. His nails blackened and sharpened, growing and making a god-awful scratching noise against the glass. His body seemed to grow, but Itachi suspected it was just the muscle mass. The roar died down and the demon regained his breathing control.

"Nobody will listen to you if you keep that up" The demon snarled in reply to Itachi's reasoning. "Do you have a name?" Itachi asked.

"What is this place?" The demon panted, removing his hands from the glass door only to slam them back against it. "Answer!" _Well at least he can understand me._

"You're on the wrong side of the cell to be demanding answers, demon" Itachi folded his arms. "Do you have a name?" The demon didn't answer and Itachi took it as a step in the right direction. At least he was listening.

"What is this place?" The demon asked again, focussing his eyes on Itachi again; he ignored the question.

"You're a high-level demon - your strength alone shows me that. There are markers in the cells to dull the full impact of certain powerful frequencies. You're breaking it"

"Good" The demon snarled. "Release me"

"Your name?" Itachi bargained, knowing the demon wasn't as naive to think that trading a name for freedom would work. The demon almost hissed, his lips drawing back in a way that reminded Itachi of a wolf. _Don't think about those._ "If you refuse to co'operate, I can only promise that things will get worse, demon"

"You" The demon flexed his muscles again, planting his feet and pressing onto the glass with his large hands, his biceps bulging as he shifted his weight forwards. Several things seemed to click into place in that moment, and Itachi saw it all happen as if the demon's eyes were a flip-book of revelations. _He's realised something._

"You're a Uchiha, aren't you? Take them off" _The glasses?_ Itachi reached his hands to his black-out specs, but barely flicked a finger over them before he realised what he was doing. His hand fell to his side, his glasses remaining over his eyes as the demon snickered in response. "Almost, _wolf"_ The demon's snicker shifted, now a full on laugh. It was mocking him. Itachi's face grew slack. "I know all about you" The demon grinned, seeming amused and a little happier. "The family pet, now?"

"Keep your observations to yourself, demon. Nobody else cares. Will you tell me your name, or not? It seems fair if you know who I am"

"Fair?" The demon echoed, his laughter dying down - his voice husky and coarse. His hands slammed into the glass again. "Is _this_ fair?" Itachi said nothing. "I'm going to rip you limb from pretty-long limb when we're done here"

"I'm sure" Itachi turned with disappointment and began walking away. As soon as he did, the beast started raging against the walls again, laughing to himself now. Father was not going to like this.

-LINEBREAK-

Sasuke could hear everything from his rigid position outside of his fathers office. Though still in training - and not technically supposed to be anywhere near the facility yet - his father had taken him around the building a few times to adjust the young teen to the work there, but it hadn't taken Sasuke long to figure out that something was wrong - and that Itachi had been right all along.

Sasuke shifted his right foot so it rested against the wall, biting his lip in that typical teenager way that he sometimes hated. He felt the walls reverberate beneath his hands - palms tingling - as his father continued to yell at Itachi. He finalised it with a loud noise - which was either an object being thrown, slammed down, or hit. Seconds later, Itachi opened the door and closed it behind him, not sparing Sasuke even a glance as he stepped out into the corridor.

"Itachi" Sasuke said, firmly, in that confident way which he'd been brought up to speak. Itachi kept walking, ignoring his brother completely.

Had it not been an everyday occurrence, Sasuke might've felt abandoned and slightly ignored. But it _was_ an everyday occurrence, and it had been for the past three years. Their father had banned Itachi from all immediate contact to the family with the exception of the patriarch himself, and Itachi had complied without question. All for the sake of a _disability._ Or a liability, depending on what kind of mood Fugaku was in.

The two brothers had been close, so close that Sasuke had doubted Itachi would ignore him for long. So close that he'd hoped Itachi would sneak into his room again. So close that, even after three years, Sasuke still greeted and talked to his brother in hope, even if Itachi never spoke back.

He bore the bruises if he spoke to his brother in front of his father, he blocked out his fathers hate-filled words towards his brother and - when alone - sought to correct them. He caught every sliver of a reaction that Itachi dared show so that if the time came, he could _understand_ what Itachi needed.

But his patience was wearing thin and he hated himself for it. He loved his brother, his patience should be unlimited. But there was only so long he could pretend that his brothers' lack of interest didn't hurt him.

-LINEBREAK-

Overnight, the demon had been relentless in his efforts to get out of the cell, but futile all the same. Nothing he did had worked and when the facilities night-shift left (exhausted and shaking) and the morning shift had taken over (bright and refreshed) it hadn't taken them long to see why. The demon seemed completely made of energy. He'd angered eighty percent of the inmates and they'd revolted as much as they could - which was basically how the demon had been acting all night. The night staff had gassed all of the cells to put them all to sleep; the demon was just a little less sturdy, Itachi had been told.

Once the ruckus from the other inmates had died down, the night staff had turned their focus to the demon. They'd gassed him, blasted him with chemicals from the vents in the ceiling, but nobody had dared enter his cell. Itachi was going to be the first, given the privilege by his father.

The demon quieted as Itachi approached the cell, hands and forearms resting on the glass door, his violence dissipating despite his haggard breaths.

"Wolf" He grinned. "Sleep well?"

"Your name" Itachi pressed, keeping a two-foot space between him and the glass for the moment. The demon simply grinned.

"You're easily becoming the highlight of my day" It quickly became apparent that he wasn't going to comply with anything Itachi had to say. He asked all of the necessary questions - name, species, age, home, business - but the demon had deflected all of them with an ease that began to irk even the generally-stoic Uchiha. The demon seemed unbreakable. Finally, when nothing else seemed to work, Itachi motioned for the security staff to come over. Then the demon seemed attentive.

"See those circles on the floor?" Itachi nodded to the shapes but the demon didn't move his eyes. "Stand on them" The demon didn't move. "It's in your best interest" The demon had the nerve to smirk, so Itachi motioned for the security man to open the door.

When it was opened the lasers switched on instantly, flickering like a strobe light around the cell. Only the small square surrounding the two circles was exempt from the attack. The lasers burned, would normally cause almost-severed limbs - but on the demon it simply caused a deep gash. Still, he complied and shifted back - his pride slipping away with each step he took in retreat to the safe box and its two circles - one for each foot. He planted his feet in the circles on the floor with the lasers inches away from his huge limbs, his face set with anger. Usually, the lasers left a few inches or so, but the demon went rigid with fury as they repeatedly skimmed his skin.

 _He's too big and the box is too small. At least we know he responds to the lasers,_ Itachi thought.

The strobe lasers stopped at the same time as another set switched on, rising from the square patch and boxing the demon inside. The controls were external and specific to each cell. The person working the lasers would make them fit just around the demon's shoulders, so only his head would be visible - and they'd also extended the width of the box by a few inches to tailor to the demon's broad shoulders and bulging arms.

Itachi stepped into the room with the freedom to pace around now, after all, the lasers were only trapping the demon in the centre of the room. A few seconds later, a trolley was brought in with a number of weapons on it. Itachi reached for the long sword and the demon grinned in response.


	2. Chapter 2

Itachi removed his coat with ease, tossing it to the awaiting pair of hands to his left. It was heavy with blood and needed to be dry cleaned or tossed away - but the person would know and decide accordingly. It was taken away without question and the cell doors locked, the lasers dropping completely.

The demon had done well to remain upright, firmly stood on both feet throughout and despite the array of torture methods. He'd given nothing away. He'd recounted what Itachi had earlier concluded, that he was a high-level demon with a particular focus on strength and brute force. He didn't give a name or a specific body that he belonged to - the vampires had their clans, the werewolves had their packs and most species had their own familial groups.

Demons generally belonged to specific leaders, but weren't as group based as other supernatural species. More often than not, they were happy to be alone and work just so - which also made them an easy target for the Uchiha Corps to collect and play with and learn about.

"Had enough?" The demon was wavering a little, his muscles straining and twitching and shaking. " _Dog"_ Ah, he was mad. Itachi turned back to the cell.

"I did warn you"

"Know a thing or two about torture, hey?" The demon staggered forwards, relentless in his mission to remain upright. Really, Itachi was just a little bit impressed by his strength. "And maybe a bit about - biology?" He stumbled, his shoulder ramming the glass as his body lurched forwards. "I've seen what you do to the others - that get dragged back to their cells with their insides taped to their bodies - an eye or a limb or two missing"

The demon pressed his forehead to the cell door, almost- no, definitely a whole head taller than Itachi.

"What are you getting your hands all dirty for, 'ey, wolf?" Itachi didn't say anything. "No? Who's your mini-me, then?" Itachi didn't flick a glance anywhere either. He knew his brother spent time around the facility and he _hated_ it. But today was Sasuke's day off - at home, being normal - and he wasn't in today. Which meant the demon was either trying to annoy him, find a weak spot, or he _had_ seen Sasuke around the place and had made the connection. Either way, the demon had successfully hit a nerve.

"Your brother?" The demon looked curious. "Same hair - and that _look._ I'd presume you have the same eyes but..." _...I still have my glasses on._ Itachi's hand wavered up to them as if he felt obliged to _show_ the demon that yes, they had the same eyes. His hand twitched at his side. "Are you both traumatised or something?" Itachi walked away, leaving the demon laughing in his cell.

On the way past the security box, he made sure they knew to put the lasers back up. Itachi heard the enraged yells half way down the corridor.

-LINEBREAK-

Itachi was getting annoyed with the latest addition. Not only had they been unable to interrogate him, their torture attempts had little effect and the demon hardly slept. It was also becoming apparent that he was starving himself. He refused any food brought to him and wasn't nearly close to suffering because of it.

They'd gassed him with a near-lethal dose, and the demon was lying on the floor with laboured breaths as if he'd just run a marathon. Itachi's jaw clenched.

The people came into the cell, one adding another sedative to the concoction that was probably now making its way through the demon's system. He wasn't happy about it, snapping at them, but the demon was visibly weaker and his reactions were slower. Something was working. They chained him up with their experimental restraints, forged with the same compound as the glass. The demon would be the first to test them, but if he couldn't break the glass then the steel restraints should hold.

"Uchiha" The demon grumbled, hours after he'd been restrained and sedated. He hadn't done anything more than lie in the position they'd left him in, propped up against the wall with his ankles, wrists and torso strapped to the chains that were bolted to the walls. Itachi had been making his rounds with the other inmates, passing by the demons cell roughly once every hour and a half.

"Still waiting for me to die?" The demon sighed, his leg drawn up with his arm resting on it. His head was lolled back, his face turned almost tiredly to face the glass door. Itachi paused.

"Hn" They'd given up feeding him - it was a waste of food and he wasn't eating it, and blood samples had been taken but the haematologists were having trouble with it. _Father is hours away from simply killing it,_ Itachi thought. _Or maybe not; he might find some other creative torture methods that the thing will respond to._

"I have a proposition" The demon grinned, leaning forwards a bit. "Want to hear?" The rules specified that the staff were not allowed to negotiate with the inmates. If anything was to be negotiated, it had to pass through Fugaku, the Head of the facility - conveniently Itachi's father. "No, of course you don't" The demon scoffed and it turned into a grunt. "I don't suppose you'd pass that glass of water, there"

"I'm sure you're able" Itachi responded.

"Such a small thing you are" The demon said, suddenly. "Not as mean as the others" Itachi raised an eyebrow at this. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"No"

"I think you're hiding"

Itachi turned to continue his rounds. He told the security to gas the demon again and strode away.

-LINEBREAK-

"How long can you keep this up?" The demon had buckled. His blood samples had come back and the people in the white coats that Itachi always avoided had subverted it to something else.

When it was injected back into the demon he responded …painfully. His body convulsed, rejecting the foreign substance completely. He bled - still red blood - from his eyes, his ears and his nose and mouth - choking on it spectacularly. He fell unconscious for a few hours and then woke up to hallucinations, speaking of wolf packs and blonde confusing lady-men. While he was disorientated, more experiments were carried out and a chart was placed outside of his cell that would monitor his day-to-day progress.

Today, Itachi was the one to continue the experiments on the demon. His father had insisted that it be done properly and Itachi was indeed brilliant at it. Of course, refusing wasn't an option. The demon was fully conscious on the lab table, having been transported in his unconsciousness and then shackled there for security. There were armed guards on the doors just in case, and a few more standing back from the table. Itachi moved his gloved hands from inside the demons chest.

"There's nothing in there that'll help you" The demon growled, bucking and tensing against the restraints. He was getting stronger, and Itachi reached for the syringe containing the concoction that he'd responded to. "Damnit, you're all the same" Itachi hesitated and the demon took full advantage, the restrains groaning as he tugged them, his hand suddenly flying free. Despite the speed, force and sheer muscle weight of the demons flying arm, Itachi didn't avoid it and bore the impact with the same indifferent face he usually wore.

The syringe found it's mark at the demons neck within seconds, but the other restraint was torn free and it took only seconds for the demon to be released completely. The dose began to take effect, bringing the demon writhing to the floor in moments.

"You- d-didn't even - flinch" The demon gurgled and managed a laugh, but all that came out of his mouth were bloodied bubbles.

Itachi stepped back and allowed the security to follow the protocol, removing his gloves and accepting the towel to clean his hands. Itachi moved to the door, waiting for the security to drag the demon away; as they passed, he thought he heard the demon utter something, a name perhaps.

"What was that, demon?" He enquired, fully expecting a sarcastic reply, if any.

"Fucking. Uchiha's"

-LINEBREAK-

"Itachi"

He was walking down the corridor after _another_ futile three hours of interrogating the demon - dealing with the eternal niceties of his brother was _not_ something Itachi _should_ want to indulge in.

But the boy seemed to have a never-ending source of patience. For three years he'd believed in earnest that Itachi would respond - despite the fact that the older brother had done all he could to pretend that Sasuke didn't exist. Itachi had always been observant, though. He'd been brilliant from a young age at picking out the tiniest detail, it was why his father valued his intelligence so much, especially with the interrogations.

But what his father - or Sasuke - didn't know, was that Itachi really _did_ pay attention to Sasuke. When he came home with a glowing report and their mother and father could be proud, Itachi was expected to ignore it. It didn't stop him from allowing himself a smile in the secrecy of his room - nothing could take that from him.

When Sasuke came home one day looking quite pale, Itachi had been the first to note that he was ill. He'd left a bowl, some towels, some head-ache pills and a bowl of fruit _'accidentally'_ in Sasuke's bathroom; their father didn't exactly check those places.

And Itachi had already figured out that Sasuke had taken a liking to someone at his school.

He socialised more, went to 'study groups' and house parties with the witches of all people, and even went out on the weekends. It was a huge advancement, but Itachi hadn't missed the smile that often lingered on Sasuke's face when he came through the front door, or even for sometime afterwards.

He had somebody else in his life that could make him smile; Itachi had been replaced and it should have been a good thing. Itachi should be relieved that Sasuke had somebody on the _outside_ of their family to rely on. The only problem was that he didn't have the time to find out _who_ the person was. He'd imagine he'd like to thank them.

"Itachi!" Sasuke repeated, more firmly than before. "If you don't turn around, I'll never talk to you again" For a moment, Itachi thought that he might. He'd been persistent for three years - of course he was going to give up at some point. "I _mean_ it" Sasuke's voice fell behind as Itachi kept walking towards his fathers office and Sasuke had apparently stopped. "You don't have to do what he tells you to do!"

-LINEBREAK-

"...an asshole"

"...seems...hard nut to crack"

"...always...just a bit...know...him like I do"

"What are you doing?" A few days had passed with the routine interrogations and various other meetings and evaluations. Itachi had gone back to check on the demon's progress after the morning's autopsy on a dead demon, finding Sasuke crouched down in front of the cell, casually _talking_ to the prisoner. True to his word, Sasuke ignored him.

"He's telling me what a delight you are" The demon grinned up at Itachi. "Glad to know it isn't personal"

"You shouldn't encourage him" Itachi told the demon, calling security over with a wave of his finger. "He doesn't have clearance; why is he down here?" The security guards looked flustered for a moment before proceeding to guide Sasuke away like he was a child. Itachi sort of hoped the boy would fight back, turn and glare at him, yell at him - something - but he didn't. He left, and the doors closed behind him. The boy hadn't said a word.

"Sibling rivalry?"

"I don't believe it's any of your business" Itachi glanced over the demon's wounds. "I see you're healing well"

"You, not so much" The demon brushed a finger over the side of his own face, a mirror-copy of the blackening bruise that the demon had caused the few days before. Uchiha's healed fast, but that bruise was looking angrier by the day. "Though I'm glad you _can_ see" The demon sat back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

"From what I hear, it'll be going downhill soon; special things, those" _My eyes?_ The typical Uchiha trademark Sharringan. But for the most part, Itachi kept his eyes covered with the glasses. For a second, Itachi's heart rate sped up as the demon looked right at him - at his eyes - as if he could see through the black-out glasses. Itachi felt them tingle as they activated, no doubt flickering their signature red, swirling a little in defence. "Hold up, meant nothing by it. Sheesh" Itachi frowned, having to reassure himself that the demon most definitely _could not_ see through the glasses.

He turned to leave.

"Itachi" The demon said carefully, suddenly rising to a stand and pacing to the glass door. "You do understand that a brother needs a brother, right?"

"Don't lecture me" Itachi warned.

"He needs you"

 _You've known him for a minute, demon. Don't think to presume that you know him_ , Itachi thought.

"I can see it in his face. In _your_ face. You don't want to ignore him any more than he wants you to"

"And I suppose you have a brother?" Itachi turned, internally furious. "A family?" The demon looked happy with the reaction, a grin tugging his lips.

"I have a family; long-distance. A pain in the ass when we're together and equally as painful when we're not"

Itachi turned to walk away.

"Don't be like that, wolf!" Itachi felt his last thread of patience cling onto his senses. "Here, would it make you feel better if I told you my name?" Itachi didn't respond other than to narrow his still-red eyes at the demon. "First Name: Kisame"

The gas came on suddenly and the demon fell coughing to the floor. _Not much of a reward for admitting his name._ The gas had been fused with some of the toxins in the syringe that they'd injected him with, so the demon was currently inhaling the chemicals. His eyes rolled back, fluttering as he tried to glare at Itachi.

The security team met Itachi by the door.

"We're ready to take him, sir" One said. "The Master would like to see you in his office, now" He announced.

Itachi nodded and waited for the lasers to go up, the door to unlock, the demon to be shackled and then dragged to the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

Kisame's data file was blank; Itachi had left his fathers office and gone straight to dig up any useful information that he could on 'Kisame'. Surprisingly, there was only one 'Kisame Hoshigaki', and Itachi felt cheated when the file came up blank except for a familiar red cloud, outlined in white, with a grey cross through it.

The stamped text ' _Disbanded by Order'_ reaffirmed ANBU's famous mission to target Akatsuki's members and assassinate them. They were a small group, too careless with their individual powers and risking exposing the supernatural realm to the human one - jumping in and out of the realms without proper reason or authorization. They were also supposedly aiding criminals, sheltering them and allowing them to illegally pass through the realms. The small group was made up of only a few, suspected demons and probably some higher-magic worker. Their motives were unclear but their constant disregard for the Supernatural Laws quickly incited a response.

The higher powers of the supernatural realms had then dispatched their elite ANBU assassins to pick off the members and kill them individually; as far as the official reports went - and Kisame's file - they had all been killed and should no longer exist.

That information wasn't readily available and Itachi had to dig for it; there had been no public reports on who those members were - it had been dealt with quickly and quietly between the higher powers and the ANBU assassins - and no faces or names had been recorded digitally. Itachi could've walked past one of them in the street and not known - of course, it was a moot thought because they were all dead. Supposedly.

He'd needed the demon's name to find the file - just that one file, and he'd bribed someone to scan a physical copy of it from the higher-ups in the authority chain. Not long after he'd accepted the file, it had 'self destructed' and all traces of its history had been destroyed. He'd looked at Kisame's blank file for all of eight seconds before that went blank and was gone. Magically spelled somehow, no doubt.

He'd need all of the other members names to find out more, and the only way he'd ever find those out was through an ANBU member (impossible) or through the demon (not entirely impossible).

And if he could find all of them and prove they were still alive, well, his father might just accept it as a gift.

 _I have a family; long-distance._ The demon had said _. A pain in the ass when we're together and equally as painful when we're not._ Had he meant his actual family? Or the Akatsuki? Why would the demon willingly offer his name, surrender that vital piece of information, and put everything into question, at risk?

Agitated, he went back to the cells intending to get the demon to talk. He wasn't expecting to find him smirking knowingly - of course he'd realise that Itachi would research the name and find out nothing from it. Any ordinary person wouldn't have found a thing, but Itachi and the facilities capabilities and ties were limitless. Of course he'd found something, even if it was a red cloud outlined in white with a grey cross through it. He could work with it.

"Any luck?" The demon chuckled.

"There was a very meaningful cross marked across your file" The demon's chuckle died softly, the grin slipping.

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Why did you tell me your name, if not for me to find out what I intend to know?"

"The only place that file came from is the Higher Ups" He said evenly. "Which means you had it for less than ten seconds"

"Eight" Itachi corrected. "Time enough to print it" Which was a lie, because he hadn't, and instantly wondered why the thought hadn't crossed his mind. _Because you were trying to piece together the situation, of course._

"Should I be happy that you have a picture of me stuck to your bedroom wall?" Itachi stiffened and forced himself not to respond. "I'm pretty sure your printer would have blown up if you had tried to print it. They don't cope well with spelled documents - the machinery is too basic" The demon's attitude had changed, and something had clicked into place in Itachi's head.

Akatsuki wasn't dead. It's members were still alive. One was in that cell. But what was he going to do with that information?

The demon had proved time and time again that his powers of strength were extraordinary, and Itachi was wondering how the hell the guy had managed to get captured in the first place. The Forces were exceptional but Itachi firmly believed that the demon could have evaded them if he wanted to.

"What do you want, demon?" Itachi asked. "Why are _you_ here?"

"I gave you my name; you should use it" The demon said encouragingly. When Itachi didn't respond, he sighed and continued. "I _wanted_ to be on the other side of this place; Kennex?" Itachi froze still. _Why?_

"What do you know about Kennex?" Itachi asked.

"Got you interested, has it?" Itachi said nothing. "Say my name, wolf" _A twitch._ "Come on - please?"

"Kennex" Itachi fought the urge to remove his glasses and just be rid of the demon altogether. "Why?"

"Name. Please" The demon said in the same flat tone that Itachi had used, albeit, he finished with a smirk. "I'll be a good inmate"

"I _know_ your name, and I have no need to say it. If that's all..." Itachi turned to go. He'd report to his father that the Akatsuki were possibly still alive, that one member was in their cell. Perhaps his father would also see that he'd done something right today.

"You won't stay?" The demon frowned, seeming confused. "You usually stay for a bit longer - even if it is to drug me up" It was comical how easily Itachi thought the demon was instantly beneath him - a leftover trait of the Uchiha's inbuilt sense of authority. Itachi had tried to diminish it - had almost worked - too. "It's frustrating being in here, y'know? How about we make a deal?"

 _Can't negotiate with the inmates._ Itachi reminded himself.

"I'll stop calling you what you are, if you stop calling me demon. _Demon,_ this. _Demon,_ that - it's annoying - no?" Itachi considered it mentally, but gave nothing away on his face or in his body language. "You're a bit of a stiff, ey?" The demon rubbed the back of his neck and came closer to the glass door. "Alright" His arm muscles flexed as he swung them up, his palms flat against the glass. Itachi didn't even blink. "You don't want to play? - I thought that was the M.O of you lot"

"You're mistaken"

"No. I'm not" The demon quickly grew irritated, his muscles rippling as he tried to keep himself calm. "Why can't you admit what you are?" But his eyes were dark and his body was tense. _He's fucking annoyed,_ Itachi thought. He stepped back, ready to call security over. _Such an idiot._

"Itachi" The demon's fingers clenched into fists, the sides of which now pressed against the door.

"What, demon?" He'd already called security over with a wave of his finger. The demon knew the small movement by now and had already retreated to the circles on the floor, his body rigid.

"You're not what I expected"

-LINEBREAK-

It was late.

He'd been working all day at the facility, ignoring the demon and interrogating some vampires, and then all night at home - trying to research more about what had happened to the other members of the Akatsuki. He knew it'd be a waste of time but he thought that somebody might know something - his contact had suddenly gone silent, and all previous information had gone missing from his system - even the external hard drive he'd copied any new information to - which, in all honestly, was nothing more than a few dates - had suddenly become corrupted. His efforts were proving fruitless, and he'd progressed with nothing.

The only reason he kept up his research was because he knew It would do better to have a full folder of information - _reliable_ information - on what he'd eventually have to tell his father. He wasn't sure why he hadn't told anybody yet. He was sure that the demon was related to the criminal group, so why hadn't he offered that up at the very least?

He fell asleep at his desk in his bedroom with that thought and embarrassingly woke up to one of the house maids nervously telling him to wake up.

The security alarms at the facility had been blaring for the past fifteen minutes, and of course Fugaku was the first one there in his office giving orders. As soon as Itachi entered, all eyes turned to him.

"Why weren't you here?" The man demanded, his hands curled furiously into fists. Itachi daren't ask why he _should_ have been there when his father had been the one to send him home in the first place, after their evening meeting. Sasuke came up to them, a bloodied towel pressed to his left arm. His father's voice softened a note. "Not infected, I hope"

"No, sir" Sasuke revealed the clean but very large cut on his arm. "Just a scrape"

"Good" Fugaku wasn't exactly known for his nurture. He turned on Itachi. "Had you been here, this would have been prevented. Now thanks to you we have a breach in security-"

"Sir!" A member of the head security team burst in, eyes wide. "Sir, it's- it's- Akatsuki! It has to be!" Itachi frowned. _The idiot doesn't know for sure?_

"Akatsuki or not, they will burn" Fugaku's face hardened as he turned to Itachi. "Check the demon" Itachi blinked. _How had he known?_. "Had you mentioned their connection sooner, perhaps we might've made the necessary adjustments to prevent this from happening. Due to your incompetence, you've endangered not only your family, your co'workers - but the people on the outside of this facility" Fugaku breathed in, turning to Itachi with a hardened glare.

"Fix your mistakes - or don't come back" He instantly busied himself with plans, people moving to his side and awaiting their orders.

Itachi felt cold and numb - could only stare at the damage on Sasuke's arm and marvel at how idiotic he'd been. Sasuke had been attacked and Itachi had slept. _Slept!_ Not only that, but he'd been a fool to try and keep anything from Fugaku. Of course he'd find out. And now the Akatsuki were taking the building. The definitely-not-dead, actually-very-much-alive Akatsuki. _The demon?_ Itachi started for the door.

"This isn't your fault" Sasuke murmured, following after him. "Don't let him fool you - I just caught it on something" He added.

 _Not now, Sasuke,_ Itachi thought, opening the door to leave the large command office.

Sasuke made a very odd noise and Itachi had to look up from the floor - to meet his face - which was a mix of disbelief and annoyance. Itachi flicked his gaze to the restless corridor as soon as he realised he'd made eye-contact.

Fugaku was speaking in an orderly fashion, organised and now calm - ignoring his sons by the door.

"I give up" Sasuke groaned, quietly, his jaw twitching. "I'm trying, Itachi. But I can't keep doing this forever"

 _I know._

"Are you going after the demon?"

 _Stupid question, little brother._

"Can I come?" Itachi shut the door purposefully behind him, keeping Sasuke in that room. He made his way back to the demon's cell, concerned to find the large being waiting casually by the glass door. The other prisoners were restless, sensing the commotion upstairs and fearing the repercussions. They were pacing, frightened, begging to be released. Itachi approached the demon's cell.

"Not a good time, wolf" Was his greeting.

"Are they here for you?" Itachi asked, keeping his eye on the one door in and out of the cell block. The demon started pacing but Itachi noted that there were only three security members at the other end of the corridor. _Where are the others?_

"Leave" His anger was building up, Itachi could see it, making his skin, hair and eyes all darker as his muscles began to strain. "Please?" He added.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

"You can't win" The demon sighed, still pacing, four steps all he could manage in the small space. "They're too strong and they aren't even at their fullest here"

 _What does that mean?_ Itachi blinked behind his glasses.

"This," The demon placed his hands on the glass. "was a plan. It failed. End of story" Itachi remembered that the demon had wanted to get into the Kennex facility - instead, he'd simply been detained.

"So they're coming to execute you?" The demon laughed at this, throwing his head forwards as if the laughter crippled his insides.

"That may be how your so called family deal with things, but not ours" He chuckled. "Please, go"

"Why?" He repeated.

"I told you; you can't win"

"Perhaps you underestimate me" Itachi raised his hand to his eyes, his fingers flicking his glasses off so they hung loosely in his hands. The light was a little bright, but his eyes adjusted instantly, firing up their defensive red, automatically sensing a threat.

"Well aren't you gorgeous" The demon seemed intrigued, his eyes focussing on Itachi's. "I'd rather not see you as a corpse on the floor, though" The demon resumed pacing - halting only once when the screams seemed to get closer and closer - the one and only door dented profusely. The three remaining security staff went towards it.

"Itachi" The demon grated, hands back on his cell door. "Open my door" Itachi didn't, and the demon knew how futile the question was. "Damnit" The demon backed up into the middle of the cell and Itachi was momentarily confused.

Then the main door in and out of the cell block blew open in a deafening noise and a whirl of smoky black cloud. The three security members who'd run towards the door were catapulted backwards, unconscious or dead.

The electrics dropped, blackening the corridors and the cells; the stand by systems came on, the cell doors double locking as fail-safe demanded and the lasers flared up. Itachi had his knife in hand. The inmates howled, backing up into their respective circles with horrified cries. The demon had known this would happen -he'd already been in those circles. Itachi glanced to him, waiting patiently.

"I'm not worth defending, wolf" He called. "Might want to do something else for a bit-"

Itachi was pinned to the floor in an instant, his attacker moving at a speed he couldn't process. He activated his sharringan - but-

"Leave him!" The demon shouted; Itachi could only watch, pinned down by a force he couldn't even process, let alone fully see, as he heard at least three other voices around him.

He'd never felt anything like it. _Sheer power - demon power._ The door to the demons cell opened, the lasers dropping only for his room. One of the Akatsuki members must've been in the control room, but all Itachi could see was grey smoke and black and red. The three security bodies were piled up by the door now, a large sword stapled through them all. Itachi tried to pick himself up but he could barely lift a finger. _Have I ever been so powerless?_

The demon walked out of his cell, dropping instantly to Itachi's side. The force of the power began to dull.

"I'm sorry - I am. I know your father won't like this and I know you'll be the one to bare the result" Was that a hand over his eyes? Itachi's sight began to darken. "Please don't chase us, wolf. It's not your playtime, yet"

The fuzziness was stopping and Itachi's senses were getting clearer. He tested his movements; he could flick his wrist. It'd do.

"Itachi-" The Uchiha swiped his hand, grabbing at the demon's neck and clenching in the weak spots. The demon froze under his grasp - despite being upside down to the demon, Itachi's grip was firm.

"There's no need for that" A hand knocked his own aside, and Itachi felt as though it had been ploughed over by a rake. "Will he be coming or staying, Kisame? We don't have long" The odd voice asked. _I have an option?_ His first thought was yes, he'd go. He could gather intel and keep an eye on them and relay it all back to his father. His next thought was Sasuke. _Can I abandon him?_

"Itachi!" His name was yelled - Sasuke hovering by the only door in and out of the call block. He was looking over, his gaze hard and concentrated as his sword straightened in front of him. "You promised, demon!" He shouted.

"You...what?" The invisible force gradually faded, and so did Itachi's grip on Kisame's neck. Sasuke's sword lowered.

"I gave him a promise in exchange for some details" The demon moved away from Itachi and began to stand up. Itachi shifted upright, willing Sasuke to stay where he was - but the boy was stubborn. The sword was tentatively placed to his side as he ran for his older brother.

"See ya' around" The demon said, his voice fading. Sasuke turned to the doorway as more security filed in with guns and weapons at the ready - he called for a medic. Itachi just watched as the demon _stepped through_ a shadow in the far wall and disappeared. And everything else seemed to shut down after him.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you very much to 'Just a Reader' for the reviews (: They really do help (and remind me to update!). This fic along with the 'planned series' is just going to be entirely my own mind going "You can do this! And this! And this!" with very little plot, so i'm trying to keep that under control for everybody's sakes ^_^'**

 **OOO**

He was surrounded by guards in his fathers office, relaying the events that had unfolded.

Sasuke was nowhere to be seen and Itachi tried not to think about it, nothing but the truth spilling from his mouth. Fugaku remained silent until the story was concluded, and the he began dividing out missions and contracts and Itachi was simply dismissed.

He'd been expecting a punishment, some sort of consequence for his stupidity. He'd let the demon simply step out of his open cell, he hadn't risked his very life to keep the prisoner _in_ the cell and he'd in no way helped or aided the security forces that had tried to detain him. He'd inevitably got in the way, risked Sasuke in the process and then pathetically _watched_ as the demon had walked through a hell-damned shadow in a wall.

It was a mess and it was his fault. Where was his punishment?

The days passed and he received no word from his father. No instruction to stay or leave, or follow or research or do anything other than his usual routine of interrogating and autopsying the bodies. He was horrified when he found Sasuke's wandering around after Kabuto like an apprentice.

He wanted to call out for him, to ask what he was _doing,_ but he knew the action would get back to Fugaku and _that_ would provoke a response

Their father had apparently thought it best that Sasuke begin learning more about the facility, immersing him within the studies that Kabuto undertook in the basements with the corpses of their dead captives. Sasuke tolerated it, but Itachi was beyond furious.

Angrily walking down the hall of the facility, Sasuke caught him off guard as Itachi rounded a corner.

"It's what he wants, you know" The boy said quietly. "He's doing this because he _knows_ you hate it" Itachi slowed but didn't stop - so Sasuke began walking with him. "Wait" Sasuke took his brothers arm. "Don't do anything" Itachi paused. _But if I don't react, he'll make it worse._ "He'll only make it worse if you _do_ react...so don't" _Sasuke..._ Itachi shook his arm free and stalked ahead. _...I hate all of this._

 _0-LINEBREAK-0_

He managed a whole week without making his displeasure at Sasuke's new _'job'_ unknown. To Itachi, that was a feat worth celebrating. Not that he knew how exactly to _celebrate_ the fact that his younger brother was slowly becoming a mini-pathologist, or celebrate much of anything. His current injuries seemed to throb more intensely when Itachi replayed his inevitable wrongdoing.

Yes, he'd managed a whole week with Sasuke's new job at work, it didn't mean he'd given his father all rights to him. Having Kabuto force Sasuke to dissect a live creature was one step too far.

Fortunately, Itachi made his displeasure known and their father was too furious about that to sign any agreement with Kabuto's plans for the boy.

Unfortunately, his actions had repercussions.

He was sat alone in his bedroom, facing the window that was barred and locked for everybody's safety and trying to get an accurate glimpse of the night time world. The Uchiha Manor was quieter at night, and it felt much more dangerous. He both hated it and loved it, it calmed him and excited him - but he could only really see his own reflection through the glass - and that wasn't good at all.

His door was knocked and opened, his room - and peace - broken and entered into.

 _Sasuke._

"I brought you a drink"

 _You shouldn't be here._

"Please don't ignore me again" It had taken Itachi a whole two weeks last time something of this calibre had happened - it had taken that long for him to dispel his fathers echoing words to leave the boy alone. "Can I do anything?"

It wasn't Sasuke's job to do anything to or for Itachi. As the older brother, Itachi was adamant that _he_ be the one to protect Sasuke from the cruelties of the world until he was old enough, and experienced enough, to counter them. Their father was an anomaly that Itachi couldn't do much about.

Sasuke set the cup on the side table, next to Itachi's abandoned dark glasses, and bravely sat next to his brother on the bed.

"Does it still hurt?" He hesitantly raised a hand to Itachi's face, patch-work cuts and bruises marking his usually-porcelain skin. When he didn't even flinch at the contact, Sasuke curled his fingers into a fist angrily. "I told you not to react to him"

 _I lasted a week - I was doing pitifully well…_

And their father's severe punishment for it had been a week's worth of pent-up disappointment and aggression, released just hours before. All because Itachi had said the word ' _No'._

Neither of them heard the footsteps outside the door, so both turned in horror when it opened.

"Mother!" Sasuke slipped off the bed, unsure, as their mother stood with her back against the inside of Itachi's closed bedroom door.

"I told him to come. It's my fault" Itachi said instantly, and Sasuke began shaking his head in denial.

"No - it's not. Mother, please-"

"You know better than to anger him, Sasuke" Their mother said softly, not meeting Itachi's eyes. "You shouldn't be in here"

Sasuke didn't move and Itachi silently begged him to go.

"No" The boy said, standing firmly. "He doesn't deserve any of this. I've had enough of everybody _ignoring_ him. It wasn't his _fault._ He didn't _choose_ it. He hardly _allowed_ it - it's _not_ a disability-"

"Sasuke" Their mother pleaded, now reaching for him. "Please, your father-"

"You're no better than him!" Sasuke's voice raised and Itachi moved instinctively. He had one arm around Sasuke's arms and chest, the other hand over his mouth - anything to stop the boy from saying things that'll get him into trouble. Their mother gasped, eyes wide as she backed up towards the bedroom door. Sasuke shrugged out of Itachi's hold and glared at the floor.

"Sasuke, please" Their mother was shaking her head, her long dark hair making small waves across her shoulders. She wouldn't move from her place by the door, wouldn't come any closer to rescue her youngest, or come any closer to interact with her eldest. She was forced to see him as her husband did, as invisible. She was at a loss, no matter what she did…

"He's your son too _"_ Sasuke murmured.

"Go to your room" She told him quietly, and the boy stormed out and left. The floor was punctuated with each step, the slammed-shut door being the final result of his presence in Itachi's room. He wished he'd been quieter, there was no way their father hadn't heard that. If that was his intention, then Itachi would like to see how many people were brave enough to be in Fugaku's presence the next morning.

Slowly, Mikoto turned and reopened the door. Itachi turned back to the window and stood staring out of it - now seeing her reflection alongside his.

She could've said something - it seemed like a decent thing to do. But Itachi was that accustomed to her not saying anything to him, or even being in his room, that even if she were to say something - he'd probably dismiss it as a joke.

Nothing she could say could make it any better, or easier. Staying silent was probably for the best.

She closed the door more quietly as she left, barely a sound, and Itachi was on his own once more.

-LINEBREAK-

Itachi wasn't a very good sleeper. He didn't sleep for very long and when he did he slept lightly and not very easily. He didn't know why or how long it had been an issue, but he usually avoided sleeping for long periods of time because the situation was often taken advantage of when he did.

He'd slept for a whole six hours once, but when he woke up Sasuke had bruises and had been grounded for the month. Itachi _still_ didn't know why.

He remembered sleeping on the night he woke up chained to a chair, his body sluggishly responding and heavily dosed with drugs. He'd been ambushed - a confusing idea to such a light sleeper.

He'd slept out of exhaustion once, a good few hours, and had woken up to his father's fists.

He was wide awake, staring at the corner of his room as the shadows there seemed to grow. Sitting on top of his bed covers, legs bent up in front of him as he leant against his wall, he couldn't be sure if it was the dim light playing mind-tricks. But the possibility of the shadow being something else, a certain demons shadow-portal-thing, he wasn't taking his eyes off it any time soon.

He frowned at it, his dark glasses sitting on his bedside table and out of reach. He wasn't expecting to need them and usually kept them off while in his own room.

The shadow set him on edge and he fought the urge to put on a light. His eyesight was diminishing as it was - everything that he knew was either because he'd been around it so long, or that it was in the right place to be in focus. It was strange and unreliable - some days he could see things pin-prick sharp and clear and others they'd be as blurry as a watercolour.

Soon enough, he'd lose that focal point altogether and his world would be an indistinguishable fuzz until it eventually went dark. He'd be useless and Fugaku would 'remove him' altogether.

"A little birdy told me," A familiar voice said, rather quiet despite its low grumble. "that you don't sleep well" Itachi flicked the blade that he'd concealed under his pillow, and the hulk of a demon stepped from the shadow in the corner, lit by the natural glow of the night from outside the window. Itachi had thin curtains when he chose to close them, but most of the time kept them open and his room light.

 _How long has he been there?_ Itachi thought.

"Don't insult me, Wolf. That blade is useless" _Defensive._

For some reason Itachi obeyed, settling the small sliver of a weapon to the side and on his pillow. The demon raised his arms, his jacket shifting and proving he wasn't armed.

"Truce?" The demon asked. Itachi didn't agree or disagree, but the shadow seemed to lessen and the demon stepped further into Itachi's bedroom - standing in the middle and sweeping his eyes around each wall. "You don't have a lot of things" He muttered, his hand reaching for the dark glasses on the desk next to the cup that Sasuke had brought.

His head turned to Itachi then, a smirk on his face. In seconds, his shades were up, that smirking, cocky and infuriating demon _wearing_ them. Itachi couldn't figure out why he was so disturbed by it, but the fact that the demon was wearing something of his - it made his stomach flip. Annoyance? Displeasure? Or perhaps… _humour?_

"How do I look?" The demon was still grinning.

 _Out of focus,_ Itachi instantly thought, frowning and trying to-…no. Even with his disability enhancing his night-vision, despite the help of the Sharringan, he couldn't see much of the demon other than the blue smudge of a face and a patch of black.

The fact that he hadn't murdered, captured, caught, or even made a move for the demon yet suddenly settled in his mind. He didn't … _want_ to. Dare he think he was even just a little bit comfortable?

No - he wasn't _comfortable._ He'd barely had anybody talk to him in his bedroom for years, and suddenly he has Sasuke, his mother, and this demon all in one day? It unnerved him alright, but he wouldn't deny that there was no immediate threat coming off of the demon.

Itachi didn't feel endangered, and that made him a little nervous.

 _Content,_ his mind supplied. _You feel content._

And that wasn't a regular or familiar feeling.

The glasses were set back on the table next to the cup and the demon stepped closer to the bed. Itachi might've flinched but he didn't. It wasn't the same threat as his father, which was odd. Compared to the demon, his father was smaller, lither and less of a threat in terms of bulk and mass and strength. This demon could probably squish his brain from his skull with a swipe of his arm, and yet it didn't set off any alarm bells.

The demon sat on Itachi's bed, the whole thing dipping to his weight; he faced the room and kept his back to Itachi - a compromising position on his half and an advantageous one on Itachi's.

"That birdy also told me a thing or two about your … predicament"

The first thing Itachi thought of was that he didn't have a predicament. He lived his life the way his father ordered him to and that was that. There was nothing else to it. No predicament.

The second was that he was now certain that Sasuke was the 'birdy'.

"I have a proposition for you that he seemed to like - this birdy"

 _Just say his name, demon._ Itachi's eyes never left the bedsheets by his bare feet - a hands width away from the demon's legs. _Sasuke. You talked with my brother and now you're here. You mentioned giving him a promise in exchange for details…._

The demon's back arched as he bent over with his forearms on his thighs, his fingers laced together as he said, "Come with me", his head twitching to the right. Itachi could see that the demon wanted to turn to see his reaction. He was clearly forcing himself to look ahead.

"Why?" Itachi whispered, confusion coiling inside him.

"Why what?" The demon turned then, a frown on his face.

 _Why everything._ Itachi shook his head slowly. _Why go? Why the demon? Why now? Why - in general. What motive did he have? Why did Sasuke_ like _such a ridiculous proposition? Go with him…_

"I can't reassure you of anything if you don't tell me your insecurities" The demon's frown lessened. "I'm not a mind-reader, Itachi"

Something about the way he said his name stirred that odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. He spoke in the same way Sasuke did, when he was trying - and failing - to get him to speak.

 _"I'm trying, Itachi. But I can't keep doing this forever" Sasuke had told him._

"Sasuke" Itachi said softly.

The boy's very life was his insecurity - Itachi was terrified of their father's behaviour turning on the boy. At the moment, most of it was directed at him but if he left, if he abandoned his brother, who would stop him? Their mother? The thought was enough to make him consider the demon's proposition just for a second.

Mikoto as a mother had done everything perfectly during their childhood. Her only conflict had been between her duty as a wife to her husband and a mother to her children. She couldn't do right by both, and in the end her husband's power overtook anything she could do to protect her two sons. Although Itachi saw her as weak, he was glad that she'd protected Sasuke. She'd _chosen_ to protect the boy over her eldest - and he'd always be grateful for that. He just wasn't sure she could withstand the full force of her husband's anger.

The demon stood, the bed shifting as he did.

"Anything else?" He asked. Itachi thought and thought, but every insecurity he had stemmed back to Sasuke's safety. He didn't care what the demon did to him just as long as Sasuke was spared. Itachi shook his head and the demon moved across the room, fist to the wall and the shadow grew. "Alright" The demon said - possibly a smile on his face. Itachi wasn't going to _squint,_ or even try and look properly. He wasn't worth it. "Tomorrow, then"

The demon was gone and the shadow had lessened. Itachi hadn't had time to ask what was going to happen tomorrow, but he didn't ponder it too much. His room felt painfully hollow without the demon's presence, and Itachi couldn't help but be bothered by that more-so than the impending threat of 'tomorrow'.


	5. Chapter 5

As it was the weekend, Sasuke wasn't needed in the Uchiha Corps Facility. Fugaku took the weekends off work and usually allowed someone else to run things in his stead. Typically that was Itachi, but when he tried to leave his room the next morning, he found his door to be locked.

He was momentarily puzzled, his hand paused on the door handle for a fleeting moment as he wondered ' _why?'._ But of course he was to be punished. The beating clearly wasn't enough for his insubordination and it was useless to presume that Fugaku hadn't somehow heard of his isolation being broken the night before. In all honesty he was still expecting a more severe punishment than a beating and being locked up for the day.

Although he was already dressed, the annoying feeling of being unclean made his body itch. His hair was sure to tangle if he didn't brush it and it annoyed him more than it should.

The sun was high and warm outside, tauntingly so. He closed his curtains over, though their thinness didn't completely block it out. He moved back over to his perfectly made bed, sitting on that as he thought. He'd been given no other instruction, so what else was he to do?

He faced his bookshelves, his eyes scanning the colours of their spines. The daylight helped him see things better - and his focal point was much wider with better light, despite the thin curtains being drawn.

He faced them, his body tensed and waiting for Fugaku to come through the door to either remind him of his ineptness or to explain how lucky he was not to be dead. When he heard their front door close, he inched towards the window and pulled a corner of the curtain back - seeing the rest of his family leave their house.

Mikoto had her arm caught in Fugaku's, Sasuke walking alongside then with his own hands firmly in his pockets - probably fisted. He braved a glance back at the house and Itachi froze - but the boy turned back with a snap and the sound of their fathers voice. Itachi watched them walk down the paved stone that led to the gates, Mikoto and Fugaku going one way and Sasuke turning the other without so much as a wave.

Well at least Sasuke didn't seem to be spending the day in their fathers clutches. However, that also meant that Itachi had been imprisoned in his room with no directive. If they'd left, surely breakfast had been and gone - he clearly wasn't getting any. Did he then presume he'd be neglected for the day? Like a dog left abandoned in the home?

A smile tugged on his usually thin lips, his head resting back against the wall as he left the curtain to fall. A day without Fugaku was a blessing, surely.

He lost how much time had passed until his senses prickled again, that feeling of being watched creeping up on him. He scanned the corners of his room and found the darkest one to harbour a growing shadow. It was weak, considering the sunlight, but it was there. Itachi had the blade from under his pillow in his fingers in an instant.

"Again?" The demon tutted, his form appearing into Itachi's room. "I've told you that blade is no good" Itachi would rather decide that for himself. The demon went to the door and Itachi let him because it was locked, but the demon looked to be expecting a reaction. When he tried the handle and wobbled it - just as Itachi had - he frowned.

"Locked from the outside" He noted, tracing the handle and checking for something. "You have a blade under your pillow, you have an _infinity_ of physical advantages - but he can lock you in a room?" His hand fell from the door and he turned to face Itachi, still sat on his bed with his back against the wall. "And you want to stay here?" His hand was extended, expecting Itachi to get up and take it. "Get up"

Itachi shook his head. For all the demon knew, Itachi was locked up for good reason and Sasuke was still in the house - it would be a valid reason for him to stay. Though, more apparently, Itachi simply didn't trust the demon.

"The boy isn't here, and neither is your Keeper" The demon stepped forwards and Itachi watched him fiercely. Never had he heard Fugaku be called his Keeper. "Look, I know where your boy is - who he's gone to see. I can show you…"

"Stay away from him" Itachi glared and the demon's hand fell, a grin on his face.

"You told me that Sasuke was your insecurity. How do you expect me to remedy this if you don't let me?"

"Why are you trying?" Itachi whispered. "We aren't your problem - I'm _not_ your concern"

"Yes you are" He stepped closer and Itachi couldn't flinch back any further. "He's happy, you know" The demon said. "He has friends who care about him" The fact that the demon knew that and Itachi didn't was infuriating.

The additional possibility that the demon had clearly seen some sort of evidence to show that fact was annoying. Had he been watching Sasuke? Stalking him? A threat?

"I'm not trying to bribe you. Calm down" The demon exhaled and paced to Itachi's window and then back to his door restlessly.

There was something odd about seeing him in daylight. Demons were usually associated with the darkness of the night, you rarely encountered one during the day. "Uchiha's are so damn stubborn" He muttered to himself, and Itachi felt his energy leave.

He didn't want to be like _them._ He instantly endeavoured to be a little _less_ stubborn.

"His friends," He said carefully. "Are they…close?"

"A few" The demon paused and then nodded. "They're a good bunch - I can show you" Again, the demon's hand was outstretched, and Itachi's legs twitched to move him closer. He forced himself to stay still for another moment. "He's safe with them - he knows it. He's a smart kid"

He lifted himself from his bed but didn't take the demon's hand. He suddenly felt smaller in comparison, as strong as a twig next to a five-century old oak tree.

"Well?" He asked, and the demon paced two steps back to the darkest point in the room. Knuckle to the wall, the shadow grew and the demon beckoned him over. Slowly and cautiously, Itachi moved closer.

"You'll need to take my hand" The demon held it out again and Itachi looked up at him dubiously. Couldn't he just grab onto his jacket, or the sleeve of his arm? "I don't bite friends" The demon joked, his hand steadily held in the air as it waited for Itachi's. "Look, I can't steer you through _that_ unless you - thank you" Itachi's hand felt ridiculous in the demon's, and he hated every second it was there.

He ignored the odd feeling of being stuck in a black 'cloud' for the moment, pushed past the minimal nausea as best he could, until he could breathe fresh air again and the demon had released his hand. They were against a large tree, half-in and half-out of a shadow somewhere around the public park.

"To your right," The demon muttered, and Itachi turned. Sasuke was sat on the grass, his arms stretched behind him and his legs in front of him, surrounded by a few kids that appeared to be his age. Two of them were girls, laughing and picking at the flowers around them. Two of them were boys - one led on his back watching the clouds while the other flipped pages of his book. They all seemed content in each others company - Sasuke looked at ease, without any sort of worry boiling in the back of his mind.

When the energetic blonde kid charged over, Itachi thought that maybe he'd gotten the wrong crowd - but the blonde kid squatted down next to Sasuke and the two began talking - the blonde laughing while Sasuke seemed to grin or smirk, depending on the angle.

"He tolerates your father at the facility" The demon's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Between his schoolwork at the academy and his homework in his room, he's usually with that bunch"

"How do you know?" Itachi asked quietly, angry at the fact that the demon seemed to know so much more about his own _brother_ than he did. Maybe he _was_ a threat to them-

"He told me" The demon admitted. "I promised your safety in exchange for some details, remember?" He said, and Itachi could sense that the smirk was back. "He's quite talkative when he gets going" Sasuke, _talkative?_ Itachi would _love_ to hear the boy rant about something boyish and normal, like a movie or a book or his friends.

There was a pause where Itachi plainly heard the girls make plans for them all for the rest of the day - and Sasuke was nodding in agreement. _At least he'll be occupied for the day._

"As long as he has those friends, he'll be fine" The demon said quietly.

"You can't guarantee that" Itachi said.

"Yes. I can," The demon sighed, growing impatient. "I'll let you in on _that_ particular secret later on"

"You're going to have to do better than that," He began cautiously, keeping his eyes on the happy image of Sasuke being a sociable, normal kid. "If you want me to come with you, I mean"

"You do realise I can just _take_ you?" The demon hissed, seizing Itachi's hand quickly but not at all violently. "I don't need your permission"

"Then why haven't you?" Itachi murmured, keeping an eye on the group.

"Because I'm a _polite_ person that respects people's rights and opinions"

 _He can't be serious?_

"Person?" Itachi echoed. The demon seemed to get a little angrier.

"Fine. I'm a demon that's a sucker for lost causes and yours seems to be deteriorating rapidly. Entertain me?"

 _That sounds more plausible than a polite demon._

Itachi smiled a little as Sasuke leaned in to talk with one of the girls.

"I'm sorry - clearly I underestimated you" Itachi said quietly. "But I can't go anywhere with a criminal of your calibre, much less allow my brothers safety in your hands"

"I _will_ force you if I have to" The demon growled.

 _But you won't ._

"Take me back to my room"

The demon gripped Itachi's hand, swiftly but not harshly, and the shadow grew, the smoggy cloud came back and then - after a brief wave of nausea, they were back in his bedroom.

Itachi hadn't expected the demon to comply, and his promptness gave him reason to pause. The demon hadn't made a move to hurt him at all. He simply _obeyed._

"You could've chosen anywhere to go, anywhere for me to take you, and you want here?"

"It's my room" The demon could never understand the meaning of it - that Itachi had his own space, that everything which he owned was _in_ his room, that his room was _his_ room. Something that belonged to him. Something of his own.

He expected the demon to argue, but Itachi could see that his large new acquaintance was preoccupied. Something else was on his mind, obviously so.

"Damnit" The demon muttered, his head tipping to the side, his fist instantly in the shadow on the wall.

"You're leaving?"

That was an unexpected turn of events. He really hadn't expected the demon to give up so easily.

"Not you, Wolf. I'm coming back for you" He promised, disappearing into the shadow and leaving Itachi alone. Again, Itachi was painstakingly aware of it.

0-LINEBREAK-0

He woke choking, his breath unable to suck in a clean ounce of air. His hand instantly wanted to cover his mouth and nose but he quickly found them to be bound behind his back. He couldn't see anything - a blindfold - and he quickly registered the smell as a type of smelling salt. He'd used it enough times at the Facility to rouse drugged patients.

He had nodded off for longer than intended and woke to … what, exactly? An ambush?

 _You know better than to fall asleep like this, Itachi._ He scolded himself and tried to think rationally, but his surroundings didn't feel like his room.

The space felt too cold and open, where his room was small and consequentially warm. His hands were bound behind him and he was sitting upright. He'd never have fallen asleep like that. His movements were familiarly sluggish, his head heavier and his thoughts a little slower - all telltale signs of being drugged.

Fugaku had told him to fix his mistakes or not come back; This was the punishment he'd been expecting. Something like this was fitting for his inability to detain the demon - instead, they'd detained him - to kill or make an example of he wasn't yet sure.

 _Does it ever get old?_ He wished they'd just kill him already. If his existence was that much of a burden to his family, then he welcomed his end.

Everywhere ached like he'd been shot through with red-hot pokers. Was that possibly silver around his neck? He could feel it burning into his skin and no doubt poisoning his bloodstream. Ah, his captors wished his death to be a slow one.

"I've got you" A familiar voice muttered, and Itachi heard it echo around him. Something shuffled and he tried to figure which direction it was coming from - but his fuzzy head made it impossible to distinguish an exact location.

"Demon?" He muttered, confused. Surely the attack had been his fathers doing, sending people to ambush him while he was out playing happy-families with Mikoto.

Unless… had the demon done this?

He _had_ promised to come back, perhaps this was his revenge for Itachi's behaviour in the Facility. Perhaps he intended … or _had actually managed…_ to kidnap him.

"Are you _still_ calling me that?" He huffed, and suddenly Itachi's hands were freed. "Up and at em'" His feet were cut free from their ties to the chair and Itachi reached for the silver around his neck.

He hissed as he pulled it, picked at it until he was sure it was all off - trying to ignore the smell of burnt flesh. "Ah, shit. Forgot that" The demon plucked the burning metal from Itachi's bare fingers - slowly beginning to blister - and tossed it aside. They both reached for the blindfold at the same time, fingers clumsily brushing eachother. Itachi shifted his head aside immediately, away from the demon as he tugged off the material.

He was surrounded by dead bodies, at least two dozen, all of which bore weapons and pokers and the signature uniform of The Uchiha Corps Facility. And all were missing their heads. Fugaku must've been seriously annoyed if he'd sent them off-site to torture him. He was right about not being in his bedroom - the building was nothing more than a warehouse. Itachi stilled as the pain ebbed its way around his nerves.

"I'm assuming you can suss out what happened here without me having to explain?"

The men had abducted him while he slept, he concluded. They'd tortured him during his unconsciousness - no doubt waiting until he woke so they could enjoy his reactions as the drugs wore off - it'd be more amusing to them that way. Then they'd probably start again when he was conscious.

But the men were all dead and the demon was back.

"You killed them?" Itachi asked, his neck wound hating him as he spoke. The demon didn't answer, but the red splashes that coated his clothing were evidence enough - even in the dim light, Itachi could see that. Something glinted at his side and he moved his head to focus on it - and then regretted it.

Pain wracked his body as the demon forced him to stand. His knees bent weakly, his upper half lolling forwards. The demon was in front of him, prepared for his fall, but that didn't mean Itachi liked it any better.

"Get off" He muttered, and the demon stepped back warily. _A polite demon,_ Itachi mused. _A thoughtful one?_

"If you stay here, your father will kill you" He said simply, and Itachi didn't doubt it. "I want you to come back with me"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to die" When Itachi groaned from the pain - and the infuriating demon - he then heard, "Because _Sasuke_ doesn't want you to die, then" But his vision was slipping along with his thoughts. "Oi" His eyes snapped open, facing an angry blue blur of a face. "I came back _willingly._ I don't plan on hanging around. You're either coming too or I'm going to drag your body back myself. But I will have you with me"

"Back?" Itachi echoed, barely feeling the demon pull him up. "Back where?" He didn't even want to begin imagining how exactly the demon had him 'up' and in his arms - but his body felt significantly lighter now he wasn't trying to hold his own weight up.

"Home" The demon growled.

"I didn't agree" He said weakly, hating the vulnerability in his voice.

"You can't argue" The demon challenged, walking to the nearest dark wall and fisting his knuckle to it. The shadow grew and he put a foot through. "But i'd rather you came willingly" He said, pausing.

Itachi's body went slack. Sasuke was the only thing holding him there willingly, and the boy was proving to be quite resilient to their father's psychological attacks. Sasuke had friends now, he was happy and sociable and if the demon was right, then the boy really would be okay. Perhaps it was alright now.

Perhaps Itachi finally had the chance to be rid of Fugaku's hold. Maybe he _could_ do something for himself for once… even if it meant being in the clutches of a hulking demon. It was either that or stay and wait for Fugaku to find out he'd _not_ been properly tortured - it'd only happen again.

"I've not been away from the Complex before" And there was a reason for it, too. His disability, for one. His father, for another. And Sasuke. And the Facility. His work.

"We know how to manage your kind" The demon said. Itachi might've seen some flash of sympathy in the demon's look there, but he couldn't be sure. He'd rarely encountered the feeling, but something on his face must've shown his displeasure.

The demon 'managing his kind' wasn't the issue. Itachi wasn't sure he knew how to do anything other than work the facility. He could barely interact with his subordinates, he wasn't sure he could coordinate himself with the rest of the world. That was his worry, not 'managing' his disability. The demon would soon find out anyway that it really wasn't as great as he apparently thought.

Another jolt reminded Itachi of his current state - pained and deteriorating - and he froze momentarily in his agony."Itachi, _please"_

Itachi might've flinched (but it could be excused for a nod) and the demon took it as a confirmation, that grin appearing on his face. He stepped through the darkness in the wall and pulled Itachi through with him. A shadow, some nausea and a jolt later and they were somewhere else.


	6. Chapter 6

**06:**

 **OOO**

When Itachi regained an ounce of consciousness he was still in pain. That was nothing new, and he found he was becoming accustomed to waking up in worse situations than he allowed himself to fall asleep in.

The only added comfort was that there was a steady flow of warmth coming from one side of his body, and despite the pain it wasn't completely unpleasant.

When his eyes cracked open and actually saw something, he was rather relieved that he wasn't blind yet. The room was light despite the fire - the source of the heat - to his right. He still had a focus point, and his vision was aided by the brightness and wasn't as blurry as he'd expected it to be. He was thankful for that, at least.

But his body felt like soup, his bones as strong as limp noodles. And that annoyed him heavily.

White-hot pain rocketed through his nerves, his veins, but its consistency made it a little more manageable.

 _The silver._

He remembered it searing into his neck, liquidating into his blood stream, poisoning him. He couldn't form the words to warn the demon - to even _explain_ how to handle it-

"You don't get to die, Wolf" The demon said, his voice low and to Itachi's left. Something cooled over his skin and he watched as the demon cut into Itachi's pale arm, extended over the end of the bed and dripping blood. _He's bleeding me out,_ he thought. "And by Hellfire, I swear it that if you do it'll be by my hand only"

Itachi stilled, eyes wondering. Could the demon kill him? Yes, he seemed quite capable of it. And with a knife at Itachi's arm like that, all it would take is the demon to let him bleed out and _die_ , or nick an artery or something.

But would he? _He's had every opportunity to do so,_ Itachi thought. _He hasn't yet._ So what was his angle? What was his plan? No doubt something distasteful; demons were notoriously unpredictable and tended to bargain for their benefit. And after what Itachi had allowed to happen in the Facility, the demon would probably harbour a grudge.

With the technique he was using, it was hard to get the right moment to stop the patient from bleeding out and dying because of it. The medic was meant to intercept at the point just before death and speed up the blood-producing phase with various healing agents - effectively draining the poisoned blood out and speed-producing a new supply. It wasn't an easy task, and there were reasons that many had died because of its tedious nature. The demon was either really stupid, or sort of brilliant for trying.

"Just think of the boy" The demon said quietly. "A brother needs a brother" Itachi recalled him saying something similar while in the cells. As weariness overtook him once again, he let himself sleep to the sounds of the roaring fire to his right and found that he slept rather easily.

When he woke again, he felt considerably weaker but much…better. The sickly feeling of silver in his veins had gone and his body felt renewed because of it. It appeared that the demon's methods had worked considerably well. He felt as strong as a cloud, but at least it was a blank slate. He didn't feel poisoned and - despite the wound on his arm that was already healing up - he seemed to be in working order.

He gave his limbs a flinch, testing their capabilities, before being equally satisfied that nothing was broken or missing. He'd already begun healing and found he was strong enough to inch himself up against the headrest and into a sitting position. He kept his legs outstretched, fearful of them stiffening up if he folded them.

He was unable to figure out if he was thankful for the demon's miraculous rescue or mortified that he _still_ wasn't allowed to have his own peace. A helpful idea came to him, in that even if the demon hadn't rescued him - he'd never be allowed an actual death. Those men might've tortured him until he was almost gone, but he'd never be capable of dying or leaving unless Fugaku had the final say-so. He wasn't sure what to think, that he was better off with a demon than his own father.

"Wolf's awake" The demon grinned, appearing at the door. Itachi found himself angry at wanting to _nod_ in agreement. He wasn't going to be defined by that at all - he was Itachi, first and foremost. Then a Uchiha, and then perhaps as his ailment. His _disability._ But _not_ as something that he could be addressed as. He raised his chin in what he hoped would be a defiant manner and then glared, but the demon's relief made his anger slip. _Relief?_

"Look, if you insist on calling me ' _demon'_ \- I'm going to call you wolf. If you don't like it, you'll remember that I have a name" Or he could call him nothing altogether - just avoid addressing him. "Your brother is fine, in case you were wondering" He added, stalking off to the other side of the room.

Itachi was worried when he realised that he hadn't thought of Sasuke's safety at all. He'd been more preoccupied with the demon's motives.

"You're healing up nicely; There's no more poison in your system so it's just a case of your resting up and getting your strength back"

He took the demon's quietness to look around and figure out where he was. The likely assumption was the demon's home, but…it was a very odd home for a demon.

"What were you expecting? A cave?" In truth, Itachi hadn't known what to expect. The demon seemed more of a cave-man type, so perhaps a cave would be well suited, but this…. This was rather civilised for a _demon._

The room seemed ordinary and rather human - considering as far as he knew they weren't in the Human Realm. That tended to have a vulnerable feel about it, but the feeling that Itachi got from the room was not one of vulnerability.

As simple as the place seemed to be, he was almost certain that they were still in the Arcane Territories - the peaceful co-existing home of a variety of law-abiding creatures - but why the demon had a home there baffled him somewhat. Unless it wasn't his home and he'd stolen it from someone he'd killed?

Demon's had their own realms for their own raucous needs - they could only cross through the varying realms and territories for specific reasons and with authority and permission or passes - which most had. It was their stupidity in thinking they could get away with it to the extreme that brought most of them (eventually) to the Uchiha Corps Facility.

"We're still in your realm; Arcane Territories" The demon confirmed, bringing a glass of clear liquid over to the bed. "It's just water" Itachi believed him because his throat suddenly felt completely dry.

He also believed the fact that the demon could've killed him many times by now and he hadn't. Slowly but surely, Itachi was beginning to feel less of a threat towards the demon and more curiosity. He weakly took the glass and the demon went back to the table - too far for Itachi to see what he was doing.

So he looked around the room again.

The walls were light wood and had minor furnishings; the only lights were those on surfaces, and Itachi could tell that the room wasn't used much. The large sword that was wrapped up protectively next to the bookcase on the other hand, it looked like it had seen a few battles.

The sword was almost as tall as Itachi himself and maybe even twice as wide. He had no desire to touch or even acknowledge that thing. Itachi guessed that the demon was some kind of mercenary, or bounty hunter. It was the only explanation that would allow him to cross the realms as freely and as legally as he had been doing. Or maybe even _illegally._

"Don't get comfortable there" The demon stood and gathered the papers he'd been fiddling with, putting them into a drawer. "We aren't staying for much longer" Itachi raised an eyebrow curiously and the demon turned to smirk at him. "Maybe I _do_ live in a cave" He joked.

Itachi stayed quiet, reminding himself that as long as he was unaware of the demon's motives, he was going to play it safe. He felt well enough to move minimally - perhaps walk a short distance - but if the demon was expecting him to go trekking up mountains to reach a ridiculous _cave,_ then Itachi might accidentally-on-purpose fall off a peak.

"Two more things," The demon perched on the furthest end of the bed from where Itachi was sat. "I'll be the first to admit that you have no reason to stay, and by consequence you can leave as you wish"

"That's not true" Itachi murmured, sure that if he did try to escape then the demon would hound him down. Or perhaps the demon was only opposed to him going back to Fugaku? To somewhere where he was hated? The demon held up a finger.

"Small print" He said simply. "You're free to leave as you wish as long as you have a decent plan that won't risk danger to your life and I've authorised it"

 _Who does he think he is? My minder? My guardian?!_

Itachi's eyes narrowed in disagreement.

"Those are your brothers terms" The demon shrugged, unaffected. "He wants you safe, not dead. He took a chance with me and I'd rather not piss off that little spitfire. So if you want to leave, fine. Make a plan. You're good at that. Until then, you're with me" Itachi frowned, but the demon continued. "The second thing," Itachi still frowned. "The Big Bad Wolf in there" The demon's eyes scanned over Itachi's torso in a second and then averted back to his hands in his lap. "When was the last time you turned?"

 _Uchiha Stoic. Uchiha stoic. Uchiha stoic!_ Itachi chanted to himself, trying not to let the idiot anger him completely. _Uchiha-damn-stoic!_

"Pissed you off, huh?" The demon turned to him with that infuriating smirk and Itachi clenched his fists. "Look, I'm just trying to suss out if I need somewhere to, you know, _contain_ you. I don't mind it, heck, I have a old pal who's a wolf and he's just … a bit of an old man actually, but-"

"What's your point?" Itachi ground out, still thinking _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha stoic,_ repeatedly. He didn't think it was working.

"I need to know if you're going to be a danger to my friends - my family" The demon said seriously, and Itachi's anger deflated. "They're my priority. If you so much as growl at them, I _will_ take you out"

The fact that the demon thought he _would_ have to take Itachi out was more concerning - how much power did he think Itachi held? Itachi knew that a demon's strength was often matched by that of pure wolf power, but Itachi was only half at best, and even if he was strong enough to match the demon - it'd only be equal. The demon would win, _any_ demon might win, but this one in particular…

And he spoke of him endangering his friends? Hadn't that been exactly what Fugaku had been trying to do for Sasuke, for his clan? What he _had done_ for his clan? To protect them?

"I won't endanger them" He said confidently, but the demon didn't seem satisfied.

"That's not what I asked"

"Three years ago" Itachi eventually murmured and Kisame's eyes narrowed.

"Lying won't-"

"I'm not" He said, looking at his own pale hands on the bed sheets and remembering the last time he'd turned. "It was five days after my sixteenth birthday; I remember it vividly enough. That was the last time. I haven't turned since"

"That's impossible" The demon said quietly, now confused.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the U.C.F's fondness for experimenting" The demon himself had been vivisected in the name of _experimentation_ in the Uchiha Corps Facility. Although Itachi hadn't been dealt with as such, he'd had his share of procedures, seen to expertly and precisely by none other than his father.

"Hasn't that screwed you up?" He asked brashly and Itachi winced.

"Most likely"

"How does it-"

"I'd rather not" He said flatly and the demon closed his mouth. "I'm not a danger to your friends; even with a bad temper I can't call anything from my disability"

"Disability?" The demon echoed. "You think it's a disability?" Itachi said nothing. The demon could never understand his view on the matter, and there was no point in explaining because _he_ clearly viewed it as anything other. His tone was of awe and shock, not agreement. "Clearly your father has done more damage than I thought" He scoffed and stood up, running a hand through his hair and refusing to look at Itachi. _Damage? He did what he had to in order to protect his family._ Itachi was lucky to be _alive._ He owed everything to his father.

"What would you consider it?" Itachi asked quietly, when the demon seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "This curse. My defect"

"You wouldn't listen or agree if I told you - so why bother?" The demon grinned, back to his usual self. "Get up, go shower. We'll leave shortly after" Itachi glanced down at his grubby clothes and wondered…

"There's spare clothes in the bathroom. They'll have to do" The demon then left, walking for the door and taking his giant sword with him. Itachi got the impression he'd somehow offended him.

0-LINEBREAK-0

"This isn't your house, is it?" Itachi asked, emerging from the bathroom with the too-big spare clothes and a small towel around his shoulders for his hair. When the demon did nothing, Itachi held up the kid's toothpaste and toothbrush in one hand, the old family photo in the other. "What did you do to the family?"

"Are you trying to piss me off?" He growled, and Itachi put the things on the nearest surface to free his hands for a fight. Not that he thought he could last very long in his recovering state, but he wasn't going to let the demon- "It's none of your business; you don't like me talking about Sasuke," The demon was up, stalking across the room and snatching the photo that Itachi had found in the cupboard, hidden in with the towels. Three children all grinning, each with a different hair colour. "So don't you ask me about them"

Itachi reminded himself that he was still ignorant of the demons plans, and that it was unwise to anger him just yet. He let the matter be for now.

"If you're well enough to poke your nose where it doesn't belong then you're good enough to travel. Here" A bag was tossed at him and he barely caught it in time. He stood in the corridor as the demon gathered things from each room. He'd taken the worn bedsheets from the bed and put them in a washing basket to the side. Anything they'd used had either been stripped away or washed and cleaned. The fire had been put out and Itachi was feeling the cold, his wet hair still dripping droplets down his back. He pat it down with the towel and halted when the demon turned to him.

"Bag" He held his hand out and Itachi picked the bag up - having left it by his feet after ten minutes of watching the demon want nothing to do with it - and passing it across the space between them. It was then loaded with something. He wasn't going to anger the demon any further and was staying quiet for now.

When the demon was done collecting things, he finally stopped in the corridor and put his fist to the wall - his shadow-portal appearing. His other hand was extended to Itachi.

"I don't have all day, wolf"

Itachi glared and stepped forwards, snapping his hand into the demons and holding his breath. A cloud and some nausea later, and they were in another room. Itachi's hand was released and the demon walked forwards, unstrapping the bag and his ridiculously large sword from his back and dumping the bag on the floor - the sword he leant against the nearest wall.

 _Well it certainly isn't a cave,_ Itachi thought.

A pressure drilled in his ears, his vision blurring a little.

"Where are we?" He asked, feeling his blood pulse rhythmically in his ears until he almost keeled over. It didn't feel right. He felt like his head was caving in on itself.

"Human realm" The demon collected something from a draw. His movements seemed to hold the force of a hurricane - it was absurd, the amount of energy he emitted to do the simple things, and it appeared to be _natural._ Or perhaps everything seemed over exaggerated from the Human Realm - it was rather weak in comparison to theirs.

The demon tugged out a pendant, something small on a long, thin chain and brought it to him. "You'll need this" He said, placing it around Itachi's neck and immediately the pressure withdrew. "Take it off and I'll burn it into your chest, are we clear?"

 _That's a bit excessive,_ Itachi frowned, fiddling with the pendant. _It's not silver,_ and he was thankful for it. He'd look more closely at it later on to figure out what material it was made out of. It could've only been about a fingernail in size, slim and delicate. Itachi noted that there was a similar pendant around the demons neck too, or at least, he thought there was. The light wasn't brilliant - the curtains dark or drawn.

"Are we clear?" The demon repeated, scowling.

"Yes" He said.

"Is there anything you need?" Itachi found it an odd question, and perhaps he was a little hungry, but he wouldn't complain like a child. "I can't read your mind, y'know"

"There's nothing" Nothing that came instantly to mind, at least. Itachi supposed there would be something he'd remember in a while, but demanding as the demon was, he wouldn't allow Itachi to think.

The demon inclined his head, motioning for Itachi to follow him. He walked down the corridors until he came to a door, one that had to be pointedly unlocked.

He watched the demon pull a key from his pocket and unlock the door, flicking on the light.

He flinched and tried to remove his hand from the demon's grasp, but the demon held tighter and Itachi knew where his situation was heading. _Down those steps and into that room,_ which looked an aweful lot like a damn cellar.

A sarcastic comment came into his mind, but the demon's cold eyes told him that this wasn't a friendly encounter and jokes weren't going to be accepted. Besides, sarcasm? In a threatening situation? The demon was clearly having some kind of bad impact on him.

"It seems our arrangements have somehow been misunderstood" He said evenly. The demon didn't move and gave Itachi no indication of what, if anything, he'd done wrong.

"Not at all" The demon said, using the same tone Itachi had. "Move" The demon nudged him again and Itachi almost lost his footing. He took the rail but didn't move down just yet.

The lighting in the staircase was horrendous and his eyes weren't fully adjusted. His body was still too weak to make a decent attack, and attempting to make one now would only decrease any further progress. Itachi turned to him cautiously, his defences firing up. Weak as they were, wounded as he was, he doubted it'd be much against the demon's strength. He lowered them. He'd have to negotiate.

 _You don't negotiate with the inmates,_ an old echo reminded him. _But he's not an inmate,_ he consoled himself.

"You promised my brother my safety" Was the first thing he thought of.

"You're not dead, are ya?" The demon retorted, motioning down the steps for Itachi to move. He didn't.

"You said you were a polite demon, one that respected people's rights"

"Now you're feeling talkative?"

"What's your plan?" He uttered to himself, and then berated himself for it. The demon wouldn't tell him a thing and-

"To keep you safe and hidden" The demon didn't nudge him, but the intention to was clear in his eyes.

"By forcing me into a cellar?"

"Move, wolf" This time, the demon took a step forwards and Itachi had to turn around quickly to start moving. His footing was unsure though his hand stayed on the rail, and he was thankful that there was more lighting below; It wasn't so much a cellar, he realised.

The markings on the wall were slashed - his instant thoughts were of werewolves trapped down here that tried to claw their way out.

But the odd table remained and there were light fittings in the ceiling itself, the room actually lit bright enough for him to see quite well.

The bed was a mattress and a thick blanket, nothing more; A few books were piled up for entertainment and a make shift night stand. A border of metal circled the room, chains and shackles in one distant corner, away from everything.

He lowered his eyes pointedly to the chains and then back to the demon. Itachi stayed still in defiance, watching as the demon's grip tightened on the stair railing. Would chains be necessary? Did the demon plan to _chain_ him? Like a _dog?_ They looked like iron, but it could be laced with silver if they were cautious.

Near the chains and the shackles was a toilet, a small blocked off area for a little privacy.

It was a room fit to be called a holding cell. Perhaps the demon didn't trust the fact that Itachi really wouldn't change. He supposed it was a fair assumption but that didn't mean he liked it. He'd never been in such conditions, even his fathers methods weren't as basic as this.

Something in Itachi's chest ached, a hopelessness, a sense of being let down. Had he dared to hope that the demon would be any different than his father? He felt like he'd swapped one cage for another, an old imprisonment for a new one.

"It's a full moon tomorrow night" The demon said, crouching on the steps and linking his fingers. Itachi moved his hands to run his fingers over the metal, testing to see if it held silver properties. "Don't" The demon warned him with enough time, but Itachi was quickly learning not to trust the demon's word. He touched the metal and then snapped them back as it burned his finger pads. _Silver._ The demon sighed. "It's just for the next couple of nights - to be sure"

Itachi knew that the nights before, during and after a full moon were particularly alluring to werewolves. He could understand the demon's precautions. But again, it didn't mean he had to like them. As usual, he was good at making a positive out of a negative - and he decided to turn the demon's distrust in him into a compliment. Surely the demon feared what he'd do if he did change, and fear was a kind of respect. His father had taught him that at least, warped as it was.

"The room is also Sealed" The demon said cautiously, and that made Itachi's body tingle. _Witchcraft? Magic?._ That would explain the amulet he now wore, and why he'd felt faint when he'd first entered the building. Places that were Sealed were protected and selective about who they 'let in' or close by. In the case of intruders, their bodies would be paralysed within seconds. The amulet acted as a barrier to stop this from happening.

"This is the safest place for you to be for now" Itachi didn't doubt it. Having the room Sealed also meant that it hid any living thing inside of its barrier. Itachi would be undetectable from everything, including his father. The demon stood up.

"I'll get you some food" Itachi suddenly felt rather hungry. "Are you allergic to anything?"

 _Such a human thing,_ Itachi thought. Itachi said nothing, more for the fact that the demon was presumably trying not to kill him via allergies , or alternatively might use the information to do exactly that.

Fortunately Itachi wasn't allergic to anything, and he eventually shook his head 'no', deciding that as long as he was back in captivity he'd be silent. The demon couldn't control everything and certainly not his ability to or not to talk. That way, he wouldn't give any definite answers either. "Vegetarian?" The demon then asked, mocking and patient. Itachi simply stared at him. It was an absurd thought for him to not eat meat. The demon gave a nod, simply stood up and left without another word.

Itachi assumed the door to be locked before curiosity got the better of him. When he went to double check, finding it locked and shut solid, he braved the steps back down and sat on the mattress. When the demon had taken him away from his home, his family, this wasn't what he had been expecting.

The only thing that worried him was that he didn't know _what_ he had expected, or why his current situation bothered him. What was he expecting? What _had_ he been expecting?

His eyes pained him and he closed them, rubbing his head.

 _Not this,_ he thought. _Not this._


	7. Chapter 7

**07:**

 **OOO**

The first night wasn't completely unpleasant. The light switch was by Itachi's bed and he slept with it on - either out of paranoia or to make sure he could properly familiarise himself with his surroundings. He didn't sleep of course, but he managed to occupy the time with reading one of the books, putting his body through a little bit of light training and then meditating the rest of the night away.

Itachi imagined how the scene would play out when the demon came back, finding Itachi cross-legged on the floor, silent and calm and not at all like a half-deranged werewolf-minded animal.

The demon surpassed expectations when a tray of something like breakfast was left at the top of the stairs - the door opening and closing in the space of five seconds. The demon didn't even come down to see him, or to talk, or to try and make him talk. In wonder, Itachi stared at the tray at the top of the steps for a good ten minutes before braving the scarcely lit section to retrieve his meal.

The food wasn't bad, he even thought it could rival his mothers cooking but that was a bit excessive when he presumed the demon had probably bought it all.

He ate it sparingly, not wanting to become sick because of it, and continued with his minimal training. He did stretches, some light tai-chi manoeuvres and then prepared his muscles for a work out.

He had no sense of time other than when the demon came and 'dropped off' his second meal, the door opening and closing just as it had when breakfast had appeared. Did the demon have something more important to take care of? Surely he could tell, could _hear_ that Itachi was in no way, shape, or form a crazed lunatic of an animal. He'd be slamming into things if he were.

His evening meal came and went in the same way, and Itachi - having collected the trays - presumed that the demon would have to come down to take them all away. He supposed he was meant to put the tray back at the top of the stairs for the demon to pick up and replace, but he seized control of that situation by hording the three he had so far at the bottom of the steps.

Somewhere inside him, he registered the night of the full moon causing his senses to heighten. He felt stronger, more powerful, and it wasn't just down to his healing. He couldn't do anything about it - having all of those adrenaline bubbles surging around his body with a need for him to run, to be free and clear and just away and out of the box he was in.

So he did what he usually did on those nights; he meditated.

The demon came back the next morning and left his breakfast at the top of the steps - not a single look down into the basement to assess the possible damage, or even to see if he'd somehow managed to kill himself with all of the silver circulating the room. The door shut, another tray left, and the demon was gone.

Itachi was irritated. _One more night,_ he told himself. The demon would surely then have to believe that he was not at the mercy of his 'inner-wolf' and could indeed control it. The evidence was everywhere, in the fact that there wasn't any at all.

Only that day passed in the same way, and Itachi's stack of trays weren't going anywhere. He resorted to washing them himself in the small sink he had, leaving them to drain in the corner where the chains and shackles were. He'd feel dirty were it not for the shower he'd been allowed before they'd left the other place, but being in the confined basement was making him feel grubby. And there was also the matter of using the toilet… a glance at that made him deny needing to use it. He could wait.

He trained his way through the night, feeling his strength gather up and his usual determination return. When the demon brought him breakfast the next morning, he was waiting at the top of the steps, hand on the rail, ready.

"Do you have enough proof?" He asked, but the demon simply put the tray of food into Itachi's other hand and closed the door in silence. Itachi might've kicked the door - it was something Sasuke would do in anger - but he was more concerned about falling backwards. He shuffled his way back down the steps and ate his breakfast on the bottom one, growing annoyed at his confinement.

Surely he'd proven his point. The demon couldn't argue. Itachi wasn't a threat, at least not of the wolfish kind. He prepared a whole argument in his mind, ready to fight the demon off intellectually instead - perhaps that would work - but then the demon didn't show up with his lunch, or his evening meal.

Itachi read through the night, growing hungry now that he'd readjusted to eating regularly, and hid the taunting trays somewhere out of sight. He resigned to the small toilet and spent the next hour washing himself at the sink with the soap, thankful that the towels were rather soft and new.

The demon didn't return with his breakfast, lunch or his evening meal for the next day, or the day after, and Itachi wondered if something was wrong. He wouldn't very well _call_ for the demon, but he did try the door again and was concerned to find it still locked. Or perhaps this was some kind of further punishment, though he wasn't entirely sure what he'd done to deserve it.

 _You did torture him,_ he reminded himself. _Perhaps he's simply getting his own back._ But even that seemed slightly out of character given that the demon had every opportunity to exact equal retribution while Itachi lay half-dead from poison.

He was having trouble trying to figure out the demon's motives, but he refused to die of starvation in captivity from a demon. He'd rather die by his fathers hand, poisoned and tortured.

He drank the tap water to keep the hunger at bay. He read or trained through the nights and occupied his time with regaining his strength and practicing his close-combat with invisible enemies - with the imaginary face of the demon.

He made a game out of putting his hand to the silver strips that lined the walls, seeing how long he could hold it there before he could pull it back. He monitored his recovery time now he was almost back to full strength, and was glad to see the burns faded within hours.

After four days with no appearance from the demon, the door finally opened. Itachi hadn't expected it, but tossed one of the trays right up the staircase with perfect trajectory in reaction. The demon caught it and put it behind him, walking down the steps and crouching at the bottom one, another tray in his hands. On it was a small feast of meats and salads and breads and dips - a glass of something that wasn't water at its side. The demon put it on the floor and Itachi remained where he was, standing opposite in possible rebellion.

"It's an apology" The demon nudged the tray forwards. "For doubting you, and for leaving you that long. It wasn't intentional" The demon appeared unharmed, just tired. There was something in the way he held himself that made Itachi almost pity him - something had clearly happened - but he had no wounds to show for his disappearance. The tray was nudged again and the smells drifted over. Itachi chewed his lip and the demon stood up and left.

The basement door was left open.

0-LINEBREAK-0

He ate his tray of food in the basement out of habit. He'd give the demon some space and preserve what little he could of his pride by not running out like a feral animal.

He washed the tray, gathered it with the others and the glasses and then cautiously made his way up the steps. He was familiar with the corridor facing him because he'd walked that way to reach the basement, but he didn't know where the demon would be in the house, and he was quickly getting the feeling that he'd become very turned around if he wasn't careful. He hovered in the doorway, unsure. Was the rest of the house Sealed too? Or would Fugaku be able to track him somehow if he left the basement? He hadn't given it much thought.

"Here" The demon appeared, hand out expectantly. Itachi frowned, "The trays", and then he handed them over. The demon turned and walked away assuming Itachi would follow.

"The Seal" Itachi called, and the demon turned back to look at him.

"The whole house is Sealed" Kisame frowned. "I thought I told you that" Itachi wondered if he had or not, or if he'd just over thought the situation. Maybe he'd convinced himself that was why he was better off in the basement. "The only reason you were down there was because of the full moon; you're hidden as long as you stay inside this place" The demon turned and kept walking, obviously in a hurry. Itachi followed, ending up in a kitchen area.

The trays were placed on the side and Itachi took the hint, putting the glasses he held beside them. "I have to leave; I'm trusting you to stay here"

He waited for the demon to continue because he wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to say. The demon had let him out of the basement, only to leave him again? Trusting him to stay in the house? Why not just leave him locked in the basement for another four days and not tell him?

"This place is protected - nobody else will be able to find it. You'll be safe here as long as you don't leave"

Itachi couldn't remember the last time he'd been in someone else's home, never mind _alone_ in one. Was he supposed to mind? Or not like it? Did the demon expect him to choose the opposite, and plea to stay at his side? _No,_ Itachi thought. _That'll never happen._ But why tell him, this time? Why let him out, only to leave him again? Unless, it really had been some sort of accident - _he did seem apologetic._

"You're a fast healer - that's good. Don't over exert yourself - that's not a recommendation. I'm assuming you've got your strength back?"

Itachi had a fleeting thought that perhaps the demon was trying to convince _himself_ that Itachi would be alright on his own. The thought made him rather happy; the demon was clearly underestimating him, and that - like fear - could be twisted into some form of respect.

"You forget," Itachi said quietly, helping his voice to not sound so raspy. "I'm used to fending for myself" The demon scowled at him again and set his jaw.

"No," He uttered. "I didn't forget that" He stalked into the other room and came back with the ridiculously large sword, lifting it effortlessly to his shoulder. Itachi watched with slight admiration, wondering how the hell he'd done it. How the hell he carried that thing around like it weighed nothing more than a bag pack. "I'll know if you need me - and _don't_ do anything stupid. Human realm, okay? Human laws - human manners - human shit. You can shower and change - there's clothes around somewhere" The demon said, turning and walking out of the room and leaving Itachi alone.

"Wrong one" The demon appeared again, putting the sword back against the wall with care and picking up the bag from the floor. "Watch him for me; I'll only be an hour or so" He pointed at the sword and then left via shadow-portal.

Itachi then began wondering how the demon expected to do anything out in the _human realm_ whilst looking as he did. Would he use a spell, or a potion? As far as he knew, demon's looked like they looked and couldn't change their appearance unless by magical reinforcement. Itachi was good at sensing that kind of thing and he'd sensed nothing of the kind from the demon.

It was odd. He'd never minded being alone before, it was more the fact that he knew Sasuke hated him being isolated from everyone else that made him angry. But it was happening more and more, that _alone_ feeling, and it was beginning to reoccur every time the demon had come and gone.

0-LINEBREAK-0

It was longer than three hours that the demon was gone.

Not that Itachi minded, or was counting, or even cared. Not at all.

In those three hours, he managed to unleash his curiosity and walk about the rooms. He'd stayed in the kitchen after the demon had left, simply because it was a light and open space in which he could see and it was somewhere he knew. He didn't have any idea of the size or space of the house, and he could guess it was larger and older than the previous one. With his near-perfect memory, he doubted he'd get lost, but he'd rather absorb the information a little bit at a time.

He began sifting through the demon's things in the kitchen cupboards and then wandering back to the windows where he enjoyed light and a small view. It was mostly garden, but it was a sight that Itachi didn't see much of. After a while, he kept to the walls as he braved a conquest around the demon's 'home' to find the shower and those spare clothes.

The place was ridiculously big. It had an old feel to it, a history to its skeleton, but the furnishings appeared to be rather planned. He wasn't too keen on the Human Realm's history, didn't care much for learning it so he couldn't identify in what time period that the original foundations of the house had been laid. Things like that intrigued him.

The furnishings were different depending on the area of the house. Some rooms were dark and he couldn't find the light switch, prompting him to close the door and give up - he'd conserve his energy and try again without strain to his eyes.

Other rooms were lighter and easier to move around. Everywhere seemed spacious enough to fit a family of six and more - cosily, Itachi thought. It wasn't a mansion by any means, but the space was well used to every advantage. The kitchen had plenty of surfaces to work on and a few seats to sit at.

But everything was also rather minimal, nothing was there that wouldn't be used, or come in handy.

There was a separate dining area near a real fire place, a long table with ten seats - all pushed in. The oak-wood table itself had no table cloth on it, and all of those ten chairs were carved to perfection - each with a unique design on the back. His eyesight couldn't make it out completely, but the craftsmanship was definitely to be admired. The living area was smaller and more compact, but every space was utilised. There were open bookcases that ran around the top half of the walls, the central focus was another stone fireplace that was ready to be used and fit with logs.

The space was set for more than one person, evidently - the house was too large for just one man - and Itachi remembered the kid's photo in the bathroom of the other home. Had the demon simply stolen another place?

Itachi found himself annoyed.

The demon was stealing homes, bribing him with food in order to stay compliant and leaving him completely (and uselessly) to his own devices. What was his purpose? Why was he here?

 _Why haven't you left?_ Itachi didn't like that thought, and couldn't seem to answer it.

In rebellion at being abandoned (bribed with the meat-feast and then left alone, again), he tried to think of a way to get the demon back. The thought stunned him, he'd never done something so childish before. He'd always accepted his situation because it was always Fugaku who had put him there - therefore it had to be of some use.

But the demon, ah, he was rapidly wasting Itachi's time, and something had to be done.

The demon still wasn't back so he took his venture up the stairs. It was discreet and hidden with a number of surprises. There were five steps up to a small landing, where an alcove was set back and a small reading nook placed there.

Following the staircase around, another ten steps led him up to the first floor - where he saw more steps going around and up and presumed there to be more than one level. He stayed on the floor he was on, turning left first of all and debating whether to open the doors or not. He _did_ need to find the bathroom, and something to aid him in his plan to annoy the demon.

When he plucked up the courage to open a door he was disappointed. It was meant to be a bedroom, clearly. There was a bare bed, a wardrobe, a small dresser and a bedside table with a lamp on it. The curtains were closed over, but it was a thin material and let the light in. The walls weren't painted, the floor uncarpeted, and the light fittings weren't complete.

He felt rather let down. After the care taken to the rest of the house, this being the first bedroom he came to had put a chip against his opinion.

He found a few more rooms like this, but was glad to see that most of the others rooms had been decorated and furnished in weird and uniquely individual ways. It clearly belonged to more than one person, and Itachi couldn't imagine the demon sleeping in the room with all the plants, or the one with the fairy lights tied around the bed posts.

There were two bathrooms alone on that floor, one with a small and compact shower, toilet, cabinet and sink and another with more space to house a bath, another shower, a toilet, and a larger surface space for the sink and various other bits. He found a pile of clothes on one of the counter tops and assumed that was what the demon had been talking about.

Although he wasn't likely to forget where the bathroom was placed, he figured it was best to shower while he had it within his time to take one. After a bit of fussing and trial-and-error, he got the shower working and warm and decided briefly that wasting the demon's water bill would suffice. He spent an hour in the shower before he felt entirely wasteful and pruned, eventually having to get out.

After he changed into the new black T-shirt and too-big jeans, he opened the last door - the closest one on the opposite side of the staircase - and found it much more likely to be the demon's room, if indeed any of them were.

The walls were a dark, navy blue and his carpet lightened the room with it's sandy shade. The high, white ceiling helped and the headboard of the bed, the mirror surround, the _fireplace_ surround, and the bookcase were all painted white. There was a pointless space where he supposed a bookcase might go, or a closet, but he also saw it made a perfectly shadowed space no matter where you looked at it from. Ideal for a shadow-porting demon.

The huge bed seemed rather excessive and he supposed had the possibility of fitting two people in, but when Itachi imagined the demon asleep in it, he could probably take up most of it by himself.

When the fifth and sixth hours came and passed, he wondered if the demon had been captured. He instantly thought of Fugaku - perhaps he'd known that the demon had taken Itachi and now held the demon in the cells back at the Facility again. It wasn't uncommon for the UCF to track portals in and out and around of the Arcane Territories that were irregular - perhaps they'd tracked him to the Human Realm now, too.

Not that Itachi was worried, of course not.

 _He only saved my life,_ he thought. _It's not like I owe him anything._

But a tiny voice whispered that he did, for his _freedom - t_ emporary as Itachi was imagining his freedom, and really, not at all that _free,_ what with the demon tugging him from here to there and locking him in basements.

He'd all but abandoned him in the Human Realm with no way to get back should anything happen to him. He _needed_ the demon to get him back home. Eventually. And it was also that thought that prompted him again to question why he hadn't tried to run away.

There must be contacts in the Human Realm - but then he'd need time to find those, and he doubted he'd be able to do that and keep the hounding demon off his back at the same time. Perhaps some places were weaker and Itachi could try opening a portal by himself - but he'd need to heal and conserve his energy for that - and he'd always been weaker at creating portals to exact places, he could never work out if he was jealous or proud that Sasuke could do it better. Nobody could do it as clean cut and perfect like the Witches, but as Uchiha's their Sharringan gave them an advantage.

He'd have trouble doing anything while outrunning the demon. Every argument he came up with was countered either by his need to get his full strength back (which wouldn't be too long now) or to stay and gather intel on the demon's activities. For what reason, he wasn't sure - he couldn't imagine his father taking him back into the family home, or even back to his job at the Uchiha Corps Facility even if he came back with the demon's head.

He'd already convinced himself that trying to leave the demon now would only result in angering the demon and for some reason, that would be a bad thing. It would also be futile and pointless and Itachi would have wasted the better half of a week trying to do _what_ exactly, with the demon? Nothing. Nothing of importance had happened and it had been an entire waste of his time - and Itachi could only remedy that if he found something worthy to take note of.

Logic said that a weak Itachi wouldn't be able to outrun a strong demon, and survival instinct reminded him that Sasuke needed him alive. _A brother needs a brother._ A non-angered demon was a manageable one, but demons were incredibly stubborn and usually temperamental. Another argument against him running away.

But what he couldn't figure out was why he was trying so hard to justify _staying_ with the demon. Itachi's soldier-self was telling him to get away from the demon and go home, regardless of his punishment, while his Itachi-self was reminding him that he had nothing to go home for (other than Sasuke, who's safety had been assured) and had a sort-of-possibly-almost ally in the demon now... Fugaku had made it quite clear with the attempt on his life that he wanted nothing more to do with his failure of a son.

It wasn't a terrible situation to be in, other than the fact that his father had wanted him dead and the demon was probably going to be hunted because he'd interrupted that plan. Itachi would only end up in the crossfire - but even that didn't seem like a bad place to be if Fugaku wanted him gone.

He needed something to do, he realised. It wasn't as if he had nothing to live for, because he needed to live for Sasuke. But having nothing to do was going to drive him insane quite quickly, and the demon was clearly not going to let him in on any of his plans. Why would he? Itachi was the enemy - he'd captured and tortured the hulk - why would he-….

 _Why is he even doing any of this?_

He hadn't forgotten that the demon had originally wanted to be in the Kennex part of the facility. His reasons were unknown and Itachi wanted to find out the plan - whatever the plan had been. He was usually quite brilliant at making something good out of a bad situation, and while the being around the demon was definitely a bad situation of some sort, he refused to believe it would be worthless.

He could learn something, _anything,_ from the demon - about him, his kind, the kids in the picture and the (pretty homely, very nicely done up, not at all a cave) house that the demon had brought him to.

Another hour took him on a reconnaissance mission - but the demon had no files, papers, or indeed any _information_ on anything useful. The drawers that he'd checked for anything on the ground floor and the first floor had nothing in them - there was no documentation at all. There was plenty of sketch pads and note pads and pens, but no actual information.

Perhaps he might've found something in the draw back at that other place, but Itachi had no idea if there was anything there and had no possible way of getting there without the aid of high-class magics or a demon - neither of which were likely. The demon he had access to, yes, but he was sure the argument would be shot down rapidly. So what to do?


	8. Chapter 8

Itachi was quickly gathering that the demon's home was less of a home and more of a pit-stop - another mid-way point. Somewhere in the human realm that was equally protected as that house back in the Territories. Settling on that, and on the idea of the navy blue room being the demon's, he took a book from the shelf and sat on the window still - the best source of light - to read the book and pass the time.

He hadn't thought of any revenge plot just yet, but nothing seemed to excite him - or would justify such a move on his part. If he was going to be childish and exact his revenge, then it was going to be something brilliant, something the demon would have to care about. That was something that required insight and intel.

Predicting the demon's return sometime soon, he raided the kitchen cupboards and put everything he could find there into the basement. He would have eaten it all out of spite for the demon starving him and then bribing him with those delicious meats, but that seemed a waste. The tins he piled up by the shackles. The refrigerated items he put in the sink surrounded by ice. There were a few things in the freezer, but he let those defrost. Ready-meals? Those were binned.

The kitchen was bare and his revenge would do, but the demon still hadn't returned.

Itachi found himself back in the demons supposed-room, back on the window still as he finished the book he'd been reading from the demon's shelf.

He was debating ruining the demon's artwork as well when he realised that there was only one piece of intriguing artwork on the demon's wall.

He recalled each room having its own small piece, and the demon's was a long-width, horizontal canvas above the fireplace, six hand prints in the centre of it. The one at the end looked like it had been done twice and it might've been an error.

He wondered who those people were - there were no names and the piece wasn't titled or signed. Did it mean anything to him? Was it his family? _Could he burn it in revenge for the demon leaving him alone for so long, then trying to bribe him with food, only to leave him again?_

Even that seemed too extreme and he began to like his kitchen raid a bit more.

He was busy looking at the handprint piece when the door was nudged open and the demon walked into the room. Itachi was too busy being horrified that he hadn't even _heard_ him approach that he didn't bother to say anything. Or even be happy that he was right. _This was the demon's room._

The demon disappeared out of the room again, and Itachi heard his boots come off and be flung elsewhere down the corridor. A door was shut and the shower was turned on - Itachi could very well have been annoyed at being _ignored._

After a further half an hour the demon finally came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, his hair slicked back and looking unnatural. Itachi wanted to ruffle it up it looked so ridiculous. Ah, there, the demon did it himself.

"Are your eyes better?" The demon said, walking over to his wardrobe and opening it - black, black, black. Everything from the demon's T-shirts to his jackets and trousers were black.

Itachi might've cracked a joke, or a sarcastic comment if he'd been brave enough, but the demon was still tense despite his shower. The muscles in his back were rigid and defined (and bare) and Itachi probably couldn't tell the difference between them and a rock if he touched them. Not that he wanted to…

He also didn't want to the demon to (rightly) assume that he'd been snooping around his things - simply because he would then be _right_ in assuming so.

Besides, being _free_ now didn't mean he had to tarnish his well built character with childish things like _jokes_ as well as sarcasm and backchat _._ And flirting - because he couldn't deny that every now and then something tickled his insides and wanted him to _play_ with the demon.

No, he was a man from a respected and powerful family and he would act accordingly. He wasn't a teenager anymore, those feelings could go away. _And you're not really free, are you? And snooping? When have you ever snooped before? The demon is turning you into a criminal._

He was ignoring his raid on the kitchen for now, he'd worry about appearances depending on what the demon's reaction was.

So agreeing to the fact that his eyes were better, well….

"A little" He settled on.

The demon suddenly halted, turning to him cautiously, frowning.

"So you've had a look around?" The clothes were dragged from their hooks and tossed over the wardrobe door.

"Yes " Itachi agreed vaguely, finding the demon's ignorance of his plan rather amusing. He wanted to hint, to suggest to him that his food was all gone and ruined. But half of the fun was going to be in the surprise. _Uchiha-stoic. Uchiha-stoic. Uchiha-stoic._

The demon halted half way around the open wardrobe door.

"What did you do _?"_ He asked slowly. Itachi froze. _How could he tell?_ "You pull that face when you're trying to hide something - what did you do?" He repeated. Itachi wouldn't tell. _Play the game, demon._

"If you've screwed up our situation," The demon warned. Itachi slowly shook his head in denial. "I was gonna' take you into town tonight, but seeing as you've clearly used your time suspiciously to your advantage, I'm rethinking"

Into town? _Outside?_ Itachi flinched, his mind ecstatically crying ' _game over'_ just to abort the plan and let the demon take him outside _._ He just had to make him see that he hadn't been serious and he'll-

 _What, let you out like a puppy on a leash?_ The image made him angry. _He thinks he can bribe me with outings now? Ones that wouldn't happen anyway because leaving meant a higher chance of being found!_

It had almost worked, too. His excitement had twisted in his gut before, but now it bubbled into shame. His revenge plan was childish and playful, something a young wolf would do. Why hadn't he seen it before? Was his disability getting worse?

 _Why did I want to correct my mistake?_ Itachi backtracked, his heart slowing at the thought. _I wanted to put everything back for an outing?_ Likely a trap?

The demon disappeared around the side of the door, using it as a shield while he changed. The towel dropped and the clothes slipped in succession from their temporary hanging space over the doors top. "Hey, I was thinking. Can your eyes change colour?"

"No they cannot" The mere idea was almost (indefinitely) offensive to suggest they could. "Why?" They glared at the wooden door that separated him from the demon and debated burning a hole through it. Angry. He'd be angry with the demon until he could figure out what was happening.

"Red eyes aren't exactly common - they'll be noticed" The demon said, slamming the door shut and picking up the towel. The demon _had_ been thinking of taking Itachi out in public, but to think in that much detail… Itachi was impressed for a second, and then reverted back to steady anger.

"And of course nobody will notice blue skin" Itachi fired, and felt an inch more childish as he did. It was reflexive, it seemed. The demon did something he didn't like and Itachi responded with…backchat? The demon grinned.

"Wolf has a sarcastic button" Itachi held his tongue then, determined not to prove the demon right. "I have an Illusion spell" He explained. "I appear human. They'll just assume you're wearing contacts, I guess. There's no other part of you that couldn't pass for one of them - was just wonderin'" He shrugged.

"Then why did you ask?" Itachi wondered.

"I was curious - I thought before I might've…" But Itachi glared that thought down.

Uchiha's had red eyes once they mastered their specific skill. Itachi had mastered everything from an early age and had trouble remembering the days when he _didn't_ have his red eyes. Sasuke didn't have his yet, but Itachi's - as far as they knew - were permanently red. Dull when deactivated, and glowing like rubies when threatened.

It was impossible for the demon to have seen any other colour, and impossible for Itachi to try and hide them. He'd never tried contacts, but the thought of his Sharringan burning them into his eyeball wasn't a pleasant one. The dark sunglasses would have to do if Itachi was going _anywhere_ with the demon. And he'd clearly lost them somewhere, along with any hope of the demon letting him out of the house.

Once dressed, the demon walked out and Itachi - without quite knowing why - followed. He couldn't stop that bubbly feeling in his stomach once he realised that the demon was heading for the kitchen, each footstep bringing him closer.

The excitement came back, a slow smile trying to work onto his face. _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic._ What was _wrong_ with him? Clearly his disability was taking a turn for the worst. Perhaps there had been some kind of method in Fugaku's treatment.

The demon reached for the cupboards and opened one, finding nothing in it. Itachi stayed at the threshold of the kitchen doorway, watching the demon open and close the cabinets, the fridge and freezer doors.

"You ate _all_ of it?" It was a logical assumption, but Itachi would probably be sick if he had. He wasn't going to let the demon know that so he simply did nothing. "Or you hid it" The demon said slowly, tauntingly, and Itachi might've given himself away with a twitch. _How does he know?_ It was quickly becoming infuriating. The demon watched him for a few seconds. "A trap?"

Of course the demon wouldn't think he was _playing._ A Uchiha being so childish was one thing, but _Itachi_ of all people - wolf-in-denial- and someone who saw it as a handicap, a disability, was definitely _not likely_ to be playing. A trap was logical.

So why hadn't Itachi thought of that first?

"Damnit, Itachi" The demon's hands clenched the surfaces. "I don't have time for this"

His eyes closed briefly and Itachi admired the demon's self control. He hadn't lashed out yet, and an angered demon would surely lash out at some point. When he opened his eyes, he took another long look at Itachi and then pushed off the counter. "I gave you a chance, leaving the door open" Itachi nodded slowly as the demon advanced. Had he goaded him too far? Or was the demon going to simper down and reign in that powerful anger he had brilliant control over?

"I'm going out for some air. I plan on eating out" The demon then added, "I'm not hunting for food in my own home" Itachi expected the demon to grab a coat or something, but he just walked straight down the corridor and towards the main door. "If you come, you stay with me"

"If I stay?" He asked, just to be clear on both ends of the deal.

The demon shrugged.

"You know where you hid the food, so I don't care" So the demon didn't even entertain the idea that he could leave? Because he could, he so, so could.

 _And you haven't,_ he reminded himself. _Why haven't you?_

Itachi was stumped on that one, but he was feeling rather hungry. He didn't know if human food was anything like their food, but he guaranteed he couldn't cook it. Besides, if the demon thought he was being compliant, maybe he'd let slip a few things Itachi could use to his advantage.

 _That settles it,_ he thought, and took a step towards the demon and the door. _I've been contained for too long, even the Facility allowed for changes of scenery._

"Before you decide for certain," The demon stopped, turning. Itachi thought briefly that he looked a lot better in black. "Once we leave this place, I can't be one hundred percent sure your father won't find you" Itachi was still trying to figure out if he wanted that to happen or not. The demon then uttered, "But a heads up would be nice if you're going to run back to him"

The demon was a strange one. Itachi didn't know the answer for himself, so he couldn't tell the demon anything for sure. If he did know, he'd keep it to himself to have the advantage. Why give away intel?

 _Moments ago, you were assuming he would give something away,_ he reminded himself. _You were looking for him to reveal useful information, as he's asking you to._

Odd demon, indeed.

"I don't know" Itachi answered honestly. The demon beckoned him over with a flick of a finger. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was going down. His eyes felt the strain of being used openly, rather than protected behind dark shades, and Itachi could imagine it getting worse during the night time when it became harder to see.

He'd have to look around for some glasses to use during the day and suggest the idea to the demon. Downright asking for them would give the demon a direct fact - that Itachi's eyes were weak, despite their hereditary power. He wouldn't give the demon that advantage so soon, and that was only if he hadn't figured it out yet.


	9. Chapter 9

There first thing to strike him was the illusion spell.

Itachi wasn't sure whether to laugh or faint or hyperventilate or just run away - the demon-turned-human was _not_ as he imagined. But Itachi was a Uchiha and _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic._

"Let's go" The demon said, as if suddenly shifting from a hulking demon to a six (pushing seven) foot tall human wasn't something to be entranced by. Itachi reminded himself that it must be common for the demon to disguise himself, but the fact that he _could_ was something else.

As mentioned, demons couldn't change their appearance without help - and it usually cost them in energy or money. This demon seemed to do it so naturally and easily like it weighed nothing at all. And what confused Itachi more, there had been nothing to cause it. The demon had said no rhyme or chant, had put on no other item of clothing or amulet, hadn't done any hand seals or carved any marks - it had simply happened - by will?.

One minute he was watching the back of the demon, tall and blue and solid, and then he was staring at the more compact version. His new stature wasn't to be mistaken for _smaller,_ his hulking frame had been shrunk, but the muscles were still there across his shoulders, down his arms. He was no longer large, and blue and imposing. Instead, he was tall and large and pale and defined and slightly less imposing - more human. His hair was still tousled and still blue, but it was at least something that Itachi could recognise if he got lost.

"Don't lag" The demon warned him, tugging him out of their 'pit-stop home' and locking the door behind them. Itachi noted how his voice hadn't changed. Still low and constant like thunder.

The walk into the village was nice. It was paved in cobbles and the houses were all funny shapes - mostly painted white. It was nearly dusk and some lights were beginning to pop up which helped his eyesight, but for the most part, the scenery was rather beautiful. Itachi considered looking into the Human Realm a little more, but that was when he noticed the second thing to surprise him.

The second thing was the language thing.

English was universal. They spoke English in England and a variety of other countries in the Human Realm, most of which had adopted it as a second language, or at least understood enough to get by on. The demons spoke their own language in their own realms, but used English in the Arcane Territories or anywhere else - it was the common language even in the supernatural world. It was the only one Itachi had ever cared to know - didn't think he'd end up somewhere where he might need to know any other language.

It didn't take long to find a small shop selling sunglasses and Itachi (knowing what he was looking for and expecting the worst) found a pair that would have to do. They weren't quite like his old ones but by Human standards they'd work as good as they could.

The demon had been leading Itachi down the roads when the Uchiha had sidled off to the little stall. The demon had followed half a second later, keeping close and without any hesitation or irritation on his face. Did he recognise their similarity to his old ones? The ones he left behind?

"You actually need them?" The demon asked.

"Why else would I wear them?" Itachi retorted, annoyed. He amended his behaviour immediately - presuming the demon would have the resources to pay for the glasses if he was intending on buying their food. _Apologise._

Before he could, the demon plucked the glasses from Itachi's fingers and took them to the counter. Itachi watched him the entire way.

Perhaps he was naïve in thinking so, but there was definitely something (secretly) charming about the demon speaking in the foreign language of the place they were in. It came out effortlessly, and the demon smiled and was friendly as he spoke it. Itachi couldn't figure out what 'it' was yet, but the demon was clearly fluent, and it made himself feel inadequate, underprepared and a little foolish.

The shopkeeper waved as they left and Itachi followed the demon carefully, wondering if he was holding his glasses hostage. _Childish,_ he thought to himself, either at the demon's behaviour, or his own for assuming that holding his glasses hostage would actually work. It probably would keep him rather compliant - Itachi knew nothing, had nothing in this human realm. The demon was a … a not-entirely-bad necessity.

He walked them down the main cobbled roads to the little village centre, where Itachi could hear some of the people speaking English and some people speaking 'other'.

Itachi had slowed at a (secretly rather charismatic) restaurant nestled into a corner building. It was well lit and not completely packed with people, but it seemed like the type of place that Sasuke would enjoy. The demon had taken it as a hint and immediately walked them over, Itachi following and checking everybody's faces as they walked past.

None of them freaked out at a large, thick-bodied blue demon and Itachi reminded himself yet again that the demon must have done this many a time. Nobody gave the demon a second glance, and those that did either seemed to point out his hair or were giggling girls.

The waiter had come over at their arrival and Itachi had been prepared for English.

The waiter spoke the 'other' and then the demon spoke it back, fluently and as friendly as he had with the shopkeeper. When the waiter said something to Itachi that he didn't understand, the demon intercepted, the waiter nodded and then showed them to a table.

"What did he say?" Itachi asked, when the waiter had disappeared.

"He's gone to get our menu's" The demon translated.

"Before that"

"His name was Kal?"

"Never mind"

The demon sighed and frowned, just as the waiter came back and placed their menu's on the table. It was mostly in the 'other' language but thankfully translations were supplied. Still, Itachi asked for a glass of water and the demon looked very confused. He ordered a large beer and the waiter disappeared off - after, of course, the demon had thanked him in the same language.

"What is that?" Itachi asked. "The language? Where are we?"

"Guess" The demon challenged, folding his hands together on the table and leaning in. Though, Itachi was growing unsteady at the fact that it seemed to be getting harder to call the demon 'demon', when he looked like anything other.

He wasn't going to admit that, or that his Human Realm geography was minimal and almost nonexistent. He named a few places he did know and the demon laughed. Apparently those places were fictional, or not at all where they were.

Itachi was growing flustered and not that he'd admit that either. The demon was testing him and Itachi's inability to reign superior was angering him more than it should. Perhaps it was the fact that the demon didn't look like a demon any more, or maybe it was the demon's smug tone, or that if Itachi didn't know any better he might presume that tone was rather flirtatious.

Whatever it was, he had to force himself to think of the demon as _'the demon'_ because it was becoming all too easy to think of him as 'Kisame'. The human appearance was to blame, entirely. And the foreign language, it was too polite, too friendly, not at all demonish.

"We're in the south of France" The demon said, after the waiter had given them their drinks and had left them with the food menu.

He didn't know exactly where 'South of France' was. Itachi distracted himself with his glass of water and then the menu, finding the meal with the most to offer and the less to pay. He refused to be in the demon's debt, and had no Human Realm South of France money to pay him back with. He was keeping a total, though. He'd figure it out when the demon wasn't annoying him so.

Kisame-The-Demon waved the waiter over and ordered their meals in perfect South of France language, complete with smile and thanks. _Polite demon, indeed._ Itachi thought. _Almost convincingly human._ He halted in his tracked and sought every demonic version of the demon in his memory.

Itachi tried to remember the very same demon struggling for any sense of control as he was locked in the cells in the Uchiha Corps Facility, straining with inhuman strengths against his bonds - but this _clearly_ wasn't the same man. _Convincingly human._ He echoed.

A large plate of bread and some kind of dip was placed on their table and Itachi looked at it dubiously. When Kisame-The-Demon plucked a bit off and dipped it in, motioning for Itachi to do the same, he did - seeing as it was clearly meant for sharing.

"Why here?" He asked eventually.

"It's pretty" Kisame-The-Demon shrugged as if he hadn't said such a girlish thing. "Food's good, the people are nice and they don't care what you do as long as you're friendly"

"That house," He started cautiously. "Your home?"

"One of" Kisame-The-Demon corrected with a nod. Itachi saw that the T-shirt he wore had fit the demon's full frame - but this smaller human-sized demon caused it to slip around his collarbones precariously. He also noted the neutral weather. It wasn't cold, but it was moderately warm.

"You have more than one?" Itachi asked.

"Eat" Kisame-The-Demon encouraged, motioning to the bread. Itachi heard the underlying message for him not to pry too far, and distracted himself with the bread and the dip.

A bit later and the waiter came back with their orders.

"You're going to eat all of that?" Kisame-The-Demon looked over at Itachi's piled plate with humour. Itachi thought of a sarcastic comeback or two, but held it in. When the demon's disbelieving look didn't leave - even when Itachi readied himself with the knife and fork - he sighed and resigned to a comment.

"I've been known to enjoy a meal or two, yes"

It was a lie. Nobody knew how much he actually enjoyed food - but then again, it was easy to enjoy a meal when you only got fed miniscule portions as standard. But he did enjoy food in general. He thought it a shame that there were so many tastes out there that he hadn't yet tried.

Meals out were reserved for occasions, and even then he couldn't finish a full plate, his stomach was used to minimal amounts.

The demon's food-on-tray portions had been one up from those small portions, and perhaps he was being over adventurous with his choice, but he'd enjoy all the tastes nonetheless. It all smelled delicious.

He stared at the demon's plate in turn, seeing it almost two times as full as his own. He raised a questioning eyebrow, because Kisame-The-Human didn't look big enough to eat a dish that size.

"Keep watching, Wolf" His smirk returned and he took up the knife and fork, digging into the smaller parts of the meal first. Itachi's mouth watered as soon as his own meat hit his tongue. The demon was lying when he said the food was _nice._ It was almost certainly better than anything he'd tried before.

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Itachi watched as the demon consumed his ice cream dessert. As predicted, he himself had only managed to eat a half of everything on his own plate - but it was the finest thing he'd tasted in a long while. The demon on the other hand had managed to eat his entire dish, and the side bowl of whatever-it-was and still have room for dessert.

"Might as well tell me now," The demon sighed, sitting back and pushing his empty glass dessert bowl to the side. "The food in the kitchen…" He prompted.

"It's in the basement" Itachi surrendered the information willingly, laying his trap. The demon raised his eyebrow.

"You didn't eat it?" _Bait taken._ Itachi simply gave him a look that hopefully implied all it needed to. He couldn't finish his current meal, of course he couldn't stomach an entire kitchen stock. "I suppose," The demon nodded slowly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"So why did you do it?" The demon asked with a grin and Itachi had to force himself to keep his Uchiha-stoic face on for the fact that the demon was willing to talk. Talking meant information would slip, and Itachi was counting on it. It had nothing to do with the demon's grin. When the demon laughed and Itachi hadn't said anything, he bit his lip. "Uchiha's" The demon sighed, as if that explained everything.

"Look, as long as the cans are intact, I don't care about the rest of it" He was worried about the cans? Itachi had made a pyramid out of them, stacked them near the chains and shackles in the corner, undamaged. _Why do I want to go and put them all back in the cupboards?_ He shunned the thought and watched the as the demon's expression seemed to slip.

Something less happy had taken over his thoughts and Itachi could see it swimming around in his eyes.

"If your father came for you now, would you leave with him?" He asked quietly, not looking up from the table he was staring at.

There. The demon's priority had been set. He still wasn't sure if Itachi was to be trusted, if he'd stay or go. Itachi replied, slightly smug that his plan had worked.

"No"

But Itachi hadn't expected to say that. Barely an hour ago and he'd been uncertain, and surely a meal and a pretty village couldn't have changed his mind about the demon's very existence. But somewhere it had, and when Itachi thought of his father - or anyone - trying to take him from the restaurant, he imagined himself fighting back. He didn't want to leave.

Did that mean he wanted to stay with the demon? Unlikely. He was probably adjusting to his new found freedom, with words and space and (granted, some restrictions) but at least the demon responded most of the time.

The demon thought over this for a while until he motioned his hand, the waiter coming over. He asked for the bill in 'South of France' language and remained quiet for a while after. He paid for the meal, left a tip and walked out with Itachi following behind, taking his steps carefully.

The village was well lit, but the shadowed places seemed blackened to his eyes and he hated relying on the demon to see his way. He was thankful for the blue hair, he noticed it immediately as it reflected the many lights dotted around the railings and the balconies.

Itachi kept close after a few almost-wrong turns, feeling as if the demon was either trying to shake him or trying to test how bad his eyesight really was.

"Are we being followed?" He asked, but the demon said no. "Then why are you walking so fast?" Itachi was enjoying being outside, whether he'd admit that out loud to the demon or not, he didn't know. The demon slowed, glancing sideways to Itachi with a small curious look.

Perhaps he now realised that Itachi _would_ appreciate being outside, after being locked _inside_ for a minimum of three days. It felt like an eternity since he'd been allowed out during the night time - it was usually a hazard because of his deteriorating eyesight, and one he thought he could do without. He _had_ been doing without, but now he was in the open, with the darkness above him and the lights had their warm glow, he realised he rather missed it.

"Because you're only one of my priorities right now" The demon said quietly, and Itachi felt … sidelined. He wasn't particularly vain, and he had developed a severe dislike of being the centre of attention due past experiences. He wasn't a jealous child because the demon had other things to focus his attention on. He couldn't explain why he felt as if he'd been kicked in the chest.

"You have a wife and three demi-demons to care for?" _Sarcasm._ Once again, the demon did something he didn't like and the sarcasm came running out of his mouth. How had he managed to stay silent with Sasuke for so many years? Looking back, it truly baffled him.

"I have a family. You know that" His tone changed and Itachi suspected in anger, also suspecting the meal out might have possibly been bribery. He was broaching an uneasy topic, sarcasm would not be the way to go about it. He debated offering his help. Perhaps then the demon would be more compliant when allowing Itachi his freedom. Yes, that seemed like plan. After all, the demon said he would let him go free if he had a coherent plan that guaranteed his safety which the demon could agree to.

That was what he was working towards. He just needed to build on it.


	10. Chapter 10

The demon had been back in full demon form since he reached the hallway of the house upon their return, the human-shape fading away and giving way to his demonic self. Itachi found that he didn't really mind it either way, but wouldn't admit that he was quickly becoming fond of the demons ability to charm. Mask or not, it worked.

Itachi hadn't expected to sleep anywhere other than the basement. Call it force of habit, call it making the best out of a bad situation, but he hadn't expected the demon to give up his own bed.

"I don't sleep" Itachi reminded him. "It'll be more useful to you"

"I'm not planning on sleeping tonight, wolf" The demon had been distracted since they'd got back. He'd given Itachi his glasses without any form of bribery or hesitation and had immediately walked off into the living room.

The bedroom situation came about when he told Itachi to go to bed, telling him he might as well sleep in his room, before he went and disappeared off somewhere else. Of course, Itachi didn't sleep and so he didn't move towards the bed. He stayed in the demon's room though, choosing a book from the bookcase and starting a new one. It was very strange to have free time, to just pick a book and read it in the chair by the light. For all his solitude in his own room, he found that those four walls were un-motivating and lifeless. _His_ room, _his_ place, with _his_ own things…none of that seemed to matter anymore.

"You really won't sleep?" Itachi almost dropped the book, his body tensing as the demon surprised him once again.

"Not tonight" He told him, feeling not even a drizzle of overwhelming tiredness.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure" Itachi had a thousand reasons that he knew of for his insomnia, none of which he'd admit out loud. After a moment, when the demon didn't make a move to leave, he unfolded his arms and stepped away from the doorframe he'd been leaning on with pure male confidence.

He searched through his drawers and Itachi watched him curiously, defences prickling when the demon pulled out a rope. Itachi slipped his book away onto the nearest surface and rose to a stand as the demon moved to sit on the bed by comparison. He had a coy grin and mischief in his eyes and Itachi's chest clenched as he assessed his escape plans.

"I've hit a wall with my work," The demon said softly, wrapping the rope around his fingers and never taking his gaze from Itachi's. "And now I can't stop thinking about the food that's not in those cupboards"

Itachi struggled with the urge to run to the basement with his tail between his legs, putting the cans and things back within five minutes just to appease the demon's disappointment.

"Are you going to put them back?" He asked, and the rope went taut between each fisted bunch.

"It's just food" Itachi frowned. "Why are you so concerned with it?" Demons didn't need to eat much, and they weren't very fond of human foods by comparison to their own demon foods. Itachi hadn't ever tried it, or ever had the urge to.

"It's not the food, wolf. It's you" Itachi's stomach flipped. "The food is not in the cupboard because you took them out. You moved them" Itachi rose his chin just a little, half in disbelief that the demon was getting so worked up about it. Maybe he was just venting stress. "What's to say, next time, you won't do something else behind my back?"

"It was a game" Itachi admitted. "I was bored, figured it to be revenge for you keeping me in the basement for so long"

"I apologised for that"

"I was still angry" Itachi reasoned, wondering why the words were flowing freely. Had the demon affected him that much? Given him new chances, new opportunities - new courage?

"I didn't think you liked playing" The demon began twirling the rope through his fingers, each rotation making the end 'thump' softly on the demons thigh. "In fact, you were rather against it"

"I blame your conditions"

"So it's my fault" The demon smirked.

"…somewhat" He didn't want to give him full control of the situation. _Bad move, Itachi._ He mentally scowled at himself.

"Come here" The demon crooked a finger - the one on the hand that held the rope - and Itachi froze.

"Why?"

"You're a very good distraction; come here" Itachi stepped closer and his wrist was taken. The demon's hands were rough - but not as harsh as he'd originally thought. They worked the rope around his right wrist before he realised he was being tied up.

"What are you doing?" Itachi flicked his eyes up, feet apart to ready his balance- The demon had him bound, his strong arms carefully moving Itachi to the bed. He scowled at it, eyes burning red as he turned on the demon. "Whatever you're planning, _stop it"_

He was hoisted up and tossed onto the bed seconds later, his positioning somewhat inelegant due to his hands being together. He forced himself to sit up, glaring as the demon found the long bit of the rope that was left attached to Itachi's wrists. A nudge and Itachi was reminded of the demon's strength. He was felled again, rolled over with his hands tied to the headboard moments after.

It was completely undignified. On his stomach, hands bound - though not altogether uncomfortabe or harsh - he felt stupid. His body felt aflame as the demons hand brushed over his head (an action he couldn't work out if he liked or loathed) and then followed his hair down his neck, his back, his spine, his ass - and then right down to his right foot.

"I think my mind can rest at ease now" The demon said, and Itachi tried to roll over to glare at him again.

"You can't be serious? Untie me"

"No" He grinned and Itachi's hate dissolved. "Having you safe and _bound_ like this, I don't have to think about you rearranging my furniture, or my clothes, or maybe taking my weapons and hiding them somewhere stupid"

"I'm not a child" Itachi gaped; surely those were actions that children would do!

"I know that" The demon's eyes raked over his body and it was another move that he couldn't figure out if he loathed or loved. "But at present, I don't trust you any more than I would a kid. So until I'm done with my work, you stay like that"

"Untie me" Itachi demanded, suddenly feeling the weight of his situation. The demon had been in the cells in the facility, demanding to be released. Now, it was the other way around.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" The demon was walking out, Itachi losing confidence. "It's making me feel better already - keep struggling like that, wolf!" Itachi stopped instantly, refusing to cater to the demon's wants.

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He was insanely bored, staring at the bars of the bed for hours on end wasn't a good way to die - and Itachi was slowly beginning to actually feel _'bored to death'._ He thought it a miracle when the demon finally came back for him, sitting on the side of the bed and leaning over to undo the ropes. Itachi watched with hopeful eyes, saying nothing to sway the demon's decision to free him, until he was definitely freed. He felt a 'thank you' bubble up in his chest, but the demon simply tossed the rope to the floor and marched right back out, as if he'd just 'remembered' that Itachi had been tied up for a few long hours and needed to be untied.

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"Damnit" The black shirt stretched over his shoulders as he rubbed his forearm over his face, the hem of it rising up and placing down oddly. He didn't notice, just went straight back to his papers.

He'd been working more often, leaving Itachi to move around or read or do some of the puzzles that he found - card games and strange human-things. He was content more than he was bored, and while the demon paid him little attention, Itachi realised that he _wanted_ it. He'd spent so long in the shadows; not talking to his brother, obeying his father, in solitude, confinement, being sidelined. The demon had taken him away from that and while it had initially been disturbing, he didn't altogether loath the demon at all.

He was quiet company, with the occasional odd outburst or sporadic leaving spells; if he hit a 'block', Itachi would be tied up to the nearest stable thing and the demon would work much faster. Itachi had seen it for himself - the demon definitely worked better knowing that Itachi was secured to something.

With that thought, he realised that it was probably a psychological thing; the demon would feel safe in the knowledge that his only lead, the only bargaining chip he had, was secured and going nowhere. Of course that was all there was to it. It didn't matter that Itachi sort of maybe, perhaps just a little bit, found himself kind of…liking it.

He supposed it was some kind of shock, considering his 'sheltered' life and limited associations with other people. Having the demon pay so much attention to him, anything was now obviously game. Including being tied up and turned on by it. If the demon knew about that, he didn't let on.

He was currently tied to the staircase, a few paces away from where the demon and his table were at in the dining area. As a Uchiha, his strength should allow him to break through the staircase with enough force, but it was hardly worth the strain or effort. The rope though simple wouldn't easily fray itself into separation, so he kept himself coiled up by the rails, comfortably watching the demon as he wrote and shifted papers.

After a short while, the pencil stopped moving and was placed down thoughtfully, those calculative eyes turning on Itachi for a second.

"You know what the people in that Kennex building do, don't you?" He said quietly, staring at his sheet. Itachi looked up, testing the waters with a nod.

The demon didn't have to know that half of the things that got passed through that building were things that he'd directly signed and agreed to. Granted, his father was the overseer of the entire operation, but Itachi had been put in the trusted position to keep that section running. He briefly thought what idiot would be attempting to keep it afloat now.

"You've seen the effects?" The demon picked up the pencil, fiddling. Itachi nodded, but the demon wasn't looking. "And you still let them do it?" The pencil snapped.

He wouldn't tell the demon anything. Clearly something was bothering him and anything Itachi had to say would only be shot down - it was impossible for the demon to understand Itachi's side of things. There was no point in trying.

Itachi's breath caught as the demon turned to him, his eyes sharp and calculating and angry. This was what Itachi had been expecting. This side of the demon, the one that was angry that there even was such a thing as the Uchiha Corps Facility. Angry at what they did, at what they'd achieved - at what cost.

"Why wasn't I taken there when I was brought to that place?" He asked steadily.

"You were clearly a high level demon" Itachi said, quiet and calm. "We'd rather study you. There was no reason for you to be sent there" Itachi tried to hold the question in. When the demon turned back to his paper, seemingly ending the conversation, Itachi bit his lip to keep his mouth shut. He should've just let the matter alone. "Why did you want to be in there?". He asked quietly.

The demon didn't answer and Itachi supposed he deserved it. It _was_ the demon's business, and Itachi - being an employee, former or not - wasn't going to just be trusted with his private information. He couldn't expect the demon to surrender information that easily.

"Because some things are bigger than ourselves" He eventually said.

Itachi recognised the tone - it was the same humble tone he used when thinking of Sasuke's life before his own. "I can't completely trust you" The demon murmured. "And that irritates me more than it should" _Why?_ Itachi held his tongue this time, deciding to look at something else. The demon stood up seconds later, gave another stretch and gathered his papers. He took them with him when he left the room and didn't come back in until the sun had risen.

"Breakfast is in the kitchen"

The demon untied his wrists and gave them a slight rub and squeeze to get the blood flowing again - something he'd started doing. When he entered the kitchen, Itachi drew two conclusions. One, that he'd be eating alone. Two, the demon was leaving again.

He slipped into the chair and looked at the probably-shop-bought food in front of him. There was no point in asking the demon where he was going, he probably wouldn't tell him. There was also no point in asking, pointlessly, if he _was_ leaving. The evidence was there with the demon's jacket, his overly large sword and his boots. Itachi instantly presumed he wasn't going out into 'South of France', and when the demon opened up his shadow-portal in the wall, he expected a sort of happiness that he'd been right. Instead, he was numb to it.

Had the demon slept at all? Had he worked through the night? Itachi paused, his fork through his plate of food, as he watched the demon disappear without a word or any explanation through the portal.

He ate his breakfast in silence and severe thought - childishly planning another revenge tactic. He checked the cupboards - the demon had put every tin back. _When?_ Itachi hadn't heard him do it, hadn't seen him move to and from.

 _Go out,_ he considered. _The demon left you, leave him. Go out._

The demon had also told him that he couldn't guarantee that he was completely safe outside of the house. Nonetheless, he trusted his instincts. He had no 'South of France' money to buy anything with but the walk might be nice - perhaps he could remember the route they'd taken to that restaurant.

He could also think of his Plan of Leave. That's what he was calling it, because calling it an Escape Plan seemed too much like he was being held against his will and despite the restrictions, Itachi knew that wasn't the case.

After brushing his hair and getting washed, he left the house in broad daylight with his new glasses over his eyes as the heat prickled his skin. The door made an odd sound as if it locked itself behind him, but seeing as Itachi had no key to lock it himself (and the demon had told him the house was Sealed) he presumed it had secured it's grounds.

It felt entirely odd to be outside and doing nothing - he couldn't remember the last time he'd had time off, or away from the facility to do something so pointless.

 _Plan of leave,_ he reminded himself. _Get something the demon wants and force him to exchange it for your freedom._

That would be his back-up, if only for the reason that finding something the demon liked could be difficult. Soldier-Itachi might've gone for the demon's family, but Itachi-Itachi knew that wouldn't help his cause at all.

 _Tell him you'll happily stay in another realm, away from any Uchiha's. Exiled._

But the only Uchiha known to have done that was reportedly irretrievably mad.

His thought process dipped in and out of odd ideas, some better than others and some more likely to work. He made it to the restaurant - it looked very different in the daylight - and then he walked the same route back.

The whole time his attention was split between his Plan of Leave, possible threats and remembering his way home. His memory was good, but things always looked different at opposite ends of the day.

He reached the small gate at the front of the house and felt like his mission had been completed. He hadn't been attacked like he thought he would, he hadn't been followed like he'd assumed he could've been, and he'd thought of a few workable plans to ensure his freedom.

It was a morning well spent, he decided, as he walked into the house and closing the door behind him. It made another sound, as if it was locking itself behind him again, and Itachi stared at it for a while. _Magic._

Someone had gone through a lot of effort to keep the house hidden and secure. The demon had also told Itachi that the home was ' _one of'_ \- presumably the demon had more. Were they all so hidden and protected?

He walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, finding the demon sat at the table.

"Nice walk?" He asked, swirling the strong-smelling liquid in its clear glass. Itachi recognised it as alcohol. His tone wasn't offended, or even angry. _How to respond,_ Itachi wondered, trying to imagine a response where the demon wouldn't lash out. He didn't want an angry demon on his hands, and that thought stunned him for a second. He'd dealt with thousands of angry demons in the same way - violence or sedation - this one was clearly grating his abilities.

"I was careful" He assured the demon. "I wasn't followed" _And at least I came back._ The demon 'hmmm'd' as he drained the glass and pushed it forwards, out of his grasp. Itachi noticed the cuts and bruises - purpling marks - on the demon's knuckles. Nowhere else, but a perfect set on each hand. Itachi moved the glass from the counter top and sat carefully in the seat next to the demon.

"I wouldn't sit so close" The demon's hands fisted. "I have a million questions and an equal amount of ways to restrain you until you answer them"

"You're assuming I won't answer them of my own free will"

"You know, the thought never crossed my mind" The demon slid him a glare. "You're a stubborn, deceptively calm, aggravating, non-listening, rule-breaking little shit of a Uchiha that used to run an empire of experiments, all the while ignoring his own brother and surrendering all loyalty to the fucker who's tortured him his entire life. Why would I assume I'd be correct in thinking you'd willingly tell me anything?" His mood had changed so much - always seemed to when he got back from wherever he'd been.

"Why not?" Itachi asked, and the demon seemed to darken with rage - his skin colour deepening as a hint.

"Why would you?!" The chair fell as the demon launched up, hands on the counter top. "You couldn't speak to your own brother, your entire life was dedicated to that fucking place. I was always under the impression I'd have to force it out of you - always"

"Perhaps you were mistaken" Itachi vision blurred completely, a sure sign his defences were up and his sight was slowly failing him - and perhaps a bit too late, for the demon had his throat within one fist and his wrist within the other.

He couldn't ignore the chill that crept through his veins, and then the rush of excitement that hurried after it. Something other than rope? He blamed his father for all of it. Clearly he'd become accustomed to such treatment and now the demon had it within his power to use. And hell knew Itachi wasn't going to resist because the demons idea of 'restraint' felt more like 'play'.

"You were never going to tell me anything; not when I saved your ass, not when I let you out, not even now you think we're friends" The grip was loosened and Itachi felt himself wobble. _…think they were friends?_ It was true, the demon had begun to feel less like his captor and more like some kind of lodger, but friends? His mind laughed at the idea, but…something was making him panic at the idea of not being friends. The demon released him and started pacing.

"Then why keep me here?" He asked instead, ignoring the pounding in his head. "Why waste your time?" The demon stalked out, ignoring Itachi and returning with the rope.

His wrists had almost been ready to react, to nudge themselves together willingly and see where the demon might tie him up next. The other half knew that the demon would only tie him up and leave him while the stress was vented elsewhere. He wouldn't admit he wanted to 'play', but damn if his veins weren't thrumming with adrenaline. In a split-second decision he began to move away.

"Get back here, wolf"


	11. Chapter 11

Itachi moved, lunging when the demon moved to attack. He raced through the rooms with his speed almost rivalling the demons. As he crashed into the wall, his footing unsteady, the demon hit it seconds later as Itachi had ducked. The plaster speckled his hair but he moved, the demon grinning behind him.

He hid in the shadows and skulked away after a few close-calls. His strength was back, easily knocking the demon aside for a free run up the stairs - he couldn't floor the demon, but he didn't need to. Something bubbled up from his chest and he was aware that he was smiling; once he found the demons room, he swung himself onto the top of the dresser - near the shadowed wall - and waited.

"You're trying to distract me" The demon entered, his huge sword in one hand and slowly unwrapping it with the other. "Do you realise that?" Itachi's smile grew. He should have been mortified, _playing_ with a demon like they were children who didn't know any better! The sword swung up - its blade right on Itachi's arm, a millimetre away from his skin.

"Down," The demon commanded.

Itachi stilled his body, eyes wide and seeing nothing but slight blurs. His defence was down, his eyes probably dulled. There was nothing else to suggest he was going to attack - and it was then that he realised he hadn't wanted to. He just wanted the demon to be distracted, and he himself just wanted the demon to _not_ be angry at him.

"Don't make me repeat myself"

He shifted his body - there was no way to get down gracefully - but was caught off guard as the demon's arm took his waist and he was promptly thrown onto the bed. The demon's movements were slightly jerky, possibly from the alcohol intake.

"You're not bad for a Uchiha" The demon uttered. "Those skills aren't even at full capacity, are they? Your speed, energy…"

Itachi watched the demon resign to some unknown thing and then move to stand his sword up from the ground. When he turned, Itachi had shuffled comfortably to sit at the edge of the bed. He'd readjusted his hair into less of an array and had been running his fingers through the knotted ends when the demon's eyes pinned him still.

"What?" Itachi asked.

"I'm just wondering if you're genetically bred like that"

"Like what?" Itachi frowned when the demon gave a grin, but he was quickly learning to associate a smiling, grinning demon with 'distraction'. A distracted demon meant less anger, and that was a good thing for him. So he feigned ignorance, played innocent and canted his head. It wasn't uncommon for others to be jealous of the 'genetic gene pool' of the Uchiha's as a clan, or with their skill set. There was a lot to be desired and jealous of.

"Vain" The demon said bluntly, and Itachi's hands stopped threading. The demon thought him…vain?

The demon moved, his hands firm around Itachi's hips as he applied what seemed like little effort - Itachi flat on his back seconds later. He thought his hips might break under the force, but reassured himself that the demon was only playing, which was good. Had the demon been serious, he'd have gone for his wrists to deflect an attack or his throat to secure his kill. Again, Itachi blamed the alcohol. The demon had been drinking when he'd come in, and he could have been drinking for ages before then too.

"You were playing with me before"

"Hn"

His hands left his lips, trailing upwards underneath the baggy shirt he'd taken from the demon's wardrobe. Once they reached his rib cage, they stopped and Itachi forced his body to keep still. Drunk or not, the demon's touch felt good. He wasn't a complete prude, he knew what his body liked and disliked and between the demon's prideful display of strength (on a number of occasions) and the added charm, paired with something that Itachi couldn't put his finger on - possibly depravity - _oops._

"Did you just-" The demon's eyes widened and Itachi mirrored his expression. Yes, yes he had just grinded himself against the demon. "What are you playing at, wolf?" The demon pulled back, their groins together as Itachi fought not to- "Stop it" He groaned when the demon pressed his hips back down. "Do you realise what you're doing?"

"Hn"

"Don't 'hn' me" The demon gripped his hips again and leant down. "I can break you" Itachi didn't doubt it, but it didn't stop the image bursting into his head - the demon hovering over him, like now, their bodies-

"Stop it" The demon snapped. "Stop thinking" He couldn't. Itachi's body was aflame and he couldn't stop it. How long had it even been since- "I swear to Jashin, if you don't pull that look off your face I will tie you up"

"Rope?" Itachi feigned horror.

"Silver chains" The demon replied.

"Bed?"

"Basement"

"Together?"

"Alone"

Itachi weighed his options, though there wasn't much weighing to be done. He didn't want to be chained up with silver and abandoned in the basement again.

"You're just a boy" Itachi's breath was lost as the demon stood up, leaving the shocked and bothered Uchiha on the bed. "You haven't had enough freedom to know what it can offer you"

Itachi remained silent; the non-playful demon was back.

"If I remember correctly, which I do," He said, when the demon didn't leave and silence had outstayed its welcome. "You pinned me"

"I didn't think you'd do that" The demon said, just as factually.

"What did you expect me to do?"

"I called you vain, I insulted you. I expected retaliation. You should have retaliated"

"Why?"

"Stop with the ' _why'!"_ He turned, angry energy rolling off him. "You're so damn curious - or sneaky or invasive - damnit, why do you need to know everything?" Itachi couldn't help it - it was the only comforting gesture he knew. He put his hand on the demon's arm before he'd considered why he was doing it.

The demon stilled and then laughed.

"Shit, you're actually insane. Trying to comfort a demon who's clearly had too much to drink"

"Being angry won't help your situation; it's something I learned very early on in life"

"That's where we differ. I'm a demon. Anger feeds my strength" Itachi couldn't argue with that and the demon shook off his hand. "Stop digging, wolf. You're not here to play"

"Then why am I here?"

"You haven't run yet" The demon stood up and stalked to the door. "Why don't you ask yourself why?"

0-LINEBREAK-0

Itachi watched the fit of anger play out - the walls punched through, the doors knocked off their hinges, the chairs swiped aside - anything in his path was moved or broken. It was just as he had expected. Demons were notoriously powerful fighters, playfighting in their own realm was an everyday occurrence. Itachi expected nothing less - it was the display he had been wanting to see ever since he could feel the demons anger build and build. It was also excitingly and decidedly spectacular. The demon could rage so much, could be so angry all at once and Itachi marvelled at it.

When he finally stopped, breaths heaving as he leant back against the wall, Itachi dared to move from the safety of the alcove he'd been watching from.

"Stay there, or I won't be holdin' back from you" The demon gave him fair warning, but Itachi couldn't stop his feet from inching forwards. His soldier-self wanted to control the demon into submission, calm him down and lock him in a room. His slowly-emerging-actual-self wanted to understand. The demon had disappeared on one of his 'trips' and had come back angrier than ever.

He moved and Itachi's defences leapt into action; he reacted quicker, responded better, could almost predict what the demon was going to do.

"Stop it" The demon yanked Itachi's arm and he all but crumpled inward. Despite the famed Uchiha-excellence, his bones were susceptible to breaks even if they could heal hours later _._ He let out a hiss as the demon tugged him closer, his shoulder aching from the odd angle. "Stop playing"

Itachi stood his ground, unwilling to show his disappointment. The demon had been serious and the command had sent him ram-rod straight and still. He needed the demon to be docile at least. He was still the only ticket out of the Human Realm that Itachi had, the only way to get back to Sasuke.

 _Sasuke._

How long had it been since he'd even spared his brother a thought? Caught up with the demon and his anger and their quiet bubble in South of France…. When a thumb brushed his lips he almost leaned into the contact. Deprived indeed, that he'd be seeking comfort from a demon of all things.

"I don't have time for games, Itachi" His chest prickled as the demon spoke his name. "I'm running out of options and you're my best bet right now" The hand softly reached his cheek, then his chin and then around to the nape of his neck. His arm was released from its mid-air grasp and he felt oddly buoyant. What was it the demon needed him for? Why wasn't he already using him?

"What would it take for me to be admitted into that Kennex building?" The demon said steadily, looking at Itachi in all seriousness. "I know you basically ran that place, you oversaw everything. What do I need to do to get in there?" And there it was. Back to business. Serious.

He wasn't surprised at the demon's lack of knowledge. The most anybody could find out about the Kennex building was that it was a building and Itachi mostly ran it. Perhaps they could guess what works went on inside, but the information flow in and out of the place was nonexistent. Everything was protected and monitored to the point of isolation. Even the workers were checked before and after they left and had signed contracts to ensure their full secrecy.

"You won't tell me?" The demon scoffed. "Figures. Loyal bastards" He said, so quietly that Itachi almost didn't catch it. Was the demon planning on going back? _Into_ the facility? Well, Itachi supposed that he'd gone in for a reason during their first encounter, and that reason had evidently been spoiled. It would make sense that he'd try again, but for the demon to get into Kennex….

"You'd never get in" Itachi answered, resigning to the fact that he didn't want to be like all of the other 'Loyal bastards', he didn't want to be anything that the demon thought was like _them._ His family. He had to prove that he still had his own identity, that they weren't all cruel and malicious like his father. Some Uchiha's were different. He would be different. "You're a high level demon"

"So who do they target?" The demon asked, keeping his voice as steady as his hands knotted together. He was serious, his fingers now digging into those wounds on his knuckles. Why cause himself more pain? A reminder? A punishment? Itachi almost reached his hand out to stop it.

He needed the demon in order to get out of this place and somewhere else, as per his Plan of Leave. The demon couldn't die. He needed a demon that was stable and alive in order for his freedom to be ensured. He could lie? But the demon would likely know and Itachi would feel like they'd taken a step back-

"Who do they target?" The demon asked again.

"You won't get in" Itachi repeated.

"You're sure?" The demon's hands separated, fisting.

"High level demons won't ever see the inside of that building. You _won't_ be considered"

Kennex was a testing programme. It mixed things that shouldn't be mixed, explored viruses and poisons that could kill and disarm and drugs that had fatal effects. So many got put out into their patients and the effects were recorded.

Those that ended up in Kennex were usually either supernatural criminals on death-row, lawbreakers who'd been taken in by the wrong, corrupt law enforcement, or those who had nothing left to live for.

As a high-level demon, the demon would never be considered for their projects. Only the drugs and concoctions that had tested and proven outcomes would get used in the facility - like the one they'd made to inject into him in order to sedate him.

That had been a simple meld of the knowledge they'd already obtained. Kennex used raw, unclear, untested and precarious systems and methods for their tests. They wouldn't risk losing any valuable information that they could learn from the demon just to test their weak concoctions.

"Who get's considered?" The demon asked eventually.

"Criminals. Nobody's"

"People that nobody will miss" The demon's lip curled and Itachi wondered if he felt sorry for them. "Damn it" He grumbled, head in his hands as he ran his fingers through his hair. Itachi felt his spine tingle moments before the demon gave another loud, audible sigh. He could feel the anger rebuild itself around him, the demon shaking his head as he considered what Itachi had told him. "….not a nobody" He murmured, confused.

"I've run out of reasons to put this off, wolf" He said slowly. "Do you remember what I said? That some things are bigger than us?" Itachi nodded. "I _need_ to get into Kennex" He emphasised, turning once again to Itachi. "You're going to help me" Perhaps that was the reason that the demon had kept him alive for so long.

"You said I wasn't to be trusted" Itachi argued. "I could lead you back into a trap - recapturing you could earn my father's favour"

"You told me you wouldn't go back with him" The demon retaliated. Itachi knew it was a truth.

"I lied" _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic._

"Did you?" The demon was equally blank faced. "I left you alone with multiple chances to leave. You left for a fucking walk. You came _back_ "

It took Itachi a few seconds to argue for that one, eventually coming up with; "You're my only way out of this place" Not the fact that he was possibly starting to like the demon's company.

"Then Sasuke will be my leverage"

 _Uchiha-stoic._ His heart thudded in his chest.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Itachi allowed himself to slip, a frown appearing on his face. The demon was evidently still trying to weigh up if he trusted him and that…hurt. Hadn't he done enough to prove himself?

"An acquaintance of mine has been poisoned by something that came out of that building. A toxin, some kind of virus or poison" While Itachi had been at the facility, nothing had left its walls. Experiments were internal, not external. They'd certainly not been taken out into the public - not as far as he knew. "You don't believe me" The demon stated. Itachi couldn't deny it - it wasn't plausible.

"Perhaps they contracted it from something else"

"He didn't" The demon said surely. "And he's dying because of it" That couldn't be it. The demon was too angry, too emotional over…a poisoned _acquaintance?_ "I need to get into that building and find out what it was, find a cure. At the very least, collect samples of its origin"

Itachi kept the thought to himself, that most of the things that got used for testing were usually in the early stages. First they determined what the effects were, and then they prioritised a cure. That the demon could possibly find the poison's origins was a slim chance - finding a cure was more than likely impossible.

"You can't be sure it's the UCF's work" Itachi said quietly.

"No" The demon fiddled with something in his pocket - a human thing, a mobile phone - and faced it towards Itachi. A video? "But it fucking looks like it should be considering what Kennex do, no?" The demon pressed play and Itachi paled.

He watched it, the writhing, feverish blonde and all of his agony. Itachi guessed from the fangs that the dying blonde was probably a vampire, but those symptoms…it was entirely possible that it really was one of the drugs they'd been testing. Those black veins that webbed around the blonde's fair skin were unavoidable signs of some of the UCF's more extreme poisons. It was only seven seconds long, but that was all he needed.

Itachi could narrow the poison down to eighty six possibilities.

"Okay" He said quietly. "Say it is," He began. "There's still too many possibilities for you to search, find, and collect the one you're looking for. It'll take too long"

"You're not listening" The demon's voice raised.

"You can't help your _acquaintance_ if you've been captured - which you will if you can't narrow it down. There won't be enough time"

"I just need the information to be sent, I don't care if I get taken" Itachi let that settle, a damning thought in his mind. "I've tried going back" The demon seethed. "I've tried every damn thing I can think of," Suddenly all of his disappearances made sense. "The Others, they told me I had an Ace right next to me and I refused to use it"

"Me" Itachi realised. He was the demon's way of getting into the facility - he had been this whole time. The demon had every opportunity to use Itachi to get him back inside and around - even abandon him with Fugaku at the end and be rid of him altogether if he wanted to. But the demon hadn't wanted him dead. There had been multiple opportunities and he hadn't taken them. Every time the demon had left to try and get into the facility, he could've taken him too and given him back.

"A polite demon," Itachi remembered. "Respecting people's rights and opinions"

"You remember that, huh?" The demon lowered his gaze to his knuckles. "I lied"

"Did you?" Itachi asked because he was beginning to believe it - that the demon _was_ a polite demon. For the most part he had respected Itachi's rights - was still a little iffy with his opinions, but that was to be expected. "You were going to exploit me and my standing in the facility in order to get what you wanted. That's why you took me - that's why you haven't killed me, or surrendered me to my father. You need me to do this" The question was, _'why hadn't he done it before? Why waste time taking him to dinner in South of France when he could've forced Itachi to do it days ago?'._

"It wasn't the reason I agreed to take you away. It had nothing to do with my agreement with your brother. I didn't want you to think that the two were connected; they aren't. But we're running out of time and you're conveniently here with me"

"What if…" But he couldn't think of an immediate 'what if'.

"I _am_ going to exploit your knowledge and I will get what I want" The demon seemed sure. "I can't waste any more time. You will help me with this, or Sasuke will suffer. I'm sorry" He really did seem quite…saddened by the fact that this was the result of their partnership.

"All I need is for you to get me inside. You can do that and turn me over to your father afterwards if you want to. You can do that and kill me when we're done if you want to- No, you can do this and leave - I'll give you your freedom, Itachi. I promise. Just get me into Kennex"

And there it was. His Plan of Leave dropped right into his hands. Something he could do, something that the demon wanted which he could exchange for his freedom. He might be able to deal with his father, their powers were matched closely, even if Itachi was at a disadvantage with his deteriorating eyesight.

But his similarity to his father's level of power was one of the reasons that Itachi had been closely monitored. The only thing to be cautious of was getting _out._ Because if they didn't, then that would be something else _entirely_ to be severely worried about.

"If I get you inside," He started. "There's no guarantee I can get you out as easily"

"Can get myself _out,_ just need you to get me in. All I need is that memory of yours and some accurately drawn plans - the details of what's _inside_ that building and where I can find that information" Itachi stilled in contemplation, the demon must've interpreted it as something else. "Wolf," The demon warned.

All he had to do was get the demon inside. It didn't matter if the demon wouldn't be able to read half of the gibberish on those documents, he'd have done his job and earned the right to his freedom. _Why does that feel wrong?_ Because the demon would take too long to find what he was looking for and then get captured in the process.

"Listen to me," Itachi leaned forwards, serious. "Even if I get you in there you won't be able to read those documents. They'll be encrypted - gibberish to anyone else. It'll mean nothing - there's too many"

"I only need the information - I don't need to understand it"

"How will you know you have the _right_ information if you can't understand it?"

"Don't get coy with me" The demon growled. "I told you, all you have to do is get me in"

"Look," Itachi snapped, standing up. "I vow to get you inside that building, I'll give you the directions you need to find the information but I can guarantee you _won't_ be able to decipher it and your friend will be dead by the time you do" There was no other option; Itachi would have to go with the demon himself.

"You aren't the only genius I know" The demon's voice lowered.

"Why won't you let me go with you?" Itachi frowned realising the problem, and then the answer. "You still don't trust me"

The demon twitched but the proof was there. Itachi went quiet. _Fine,_ he thought. _He can let his friend die while he tries to decipher those notes - nobody outside of the Kennex facility employees can understand half of what is written on those documents._

"Just get me inside, wolf. That's all I'm asking and you get your freedom" The demon said quietly.


	12. Chapter 12

Itachi walked away. He briefly remembered the demon promising his safety - was that another reason for not letting him go back there? Dare he think that the demon was actually _concerned_ for his safety? Was Itachi even just the slightest bit concerned for the demon's? He slowed, half way down the corridor. _He'll spend too long digging through the files, trying to find what he's looking for because he can't understand the content._ Itachi blinked. _He'll get caught before he finds it. His friend will die._

But he got his freedom either way, so why did it matter?

 _He's changed you,_ Itachi realised. _If the demon goes back to the facility, you'll be alone._

He never planned to stay with the demon; he'd enjoyed distracting him but leaving? He'd been so concerned with his _plan_ of leaving that he never considered what he'd do with his freedom once he got it.

It was a hard thing to picture without the demon by his side, his heavy movements and his voice saying 'Wolf'. For a moment he was disturbed, and then he felt oddly calm. No. Abandoned - adrift in an empty ocean with not a boat in sight. He knew now that once this was over, he and the demon would separate ways and that would be that. He didn't think he was the type of character to take in strays, even if it was for 'safety'. Once the demon got his way, Itachi would be free - to find Sasuke and to be by himself… but he wouldn't be staying with the demon.

He turned back and went into the kitchen, the demon staring at the mobile phone, the video still on pause.

"You need me to go with you" Itachi tried to keep his voice steady, needed to find a reason…

"No. We're done"

"I'll go with you"

"Enough"

"I'll go with you and I'll find the files you're looking for - I can probably read it, I know I can _understand_ it. You can't deny it'll be quicker" The demon said nothing. "All of this will be in exchange for my freedom when we're done. Neither of us want to get caught up with my father - _I don't want to go with him"_ Itachi was more surprised at the seriousness, the truthfulness in his tone. Because that was the easy part.

All love of his father had gone. Everything his father had done out of logic, of love, it didn't matter. Itachi had suffered because of it, and his taste of freedom had made him bold and independent - possibly reliant on the demon, but that was something he could work with.

He was bargaining on the demon giving him his freedom and Itachi would be able to somehow twist him into letting him stay. It was the only option left - he wasn't going to ask the demon outright to let him _stay._ That would tie him down too much; no, his freedom was the asking price for the information he'd give.

Itachi would ensure, somehow, that the demon was still a part of that freedom.

"You seem to care an awful lot about my safety, wolf" The demon seemed to be getting back to his usual self, a small quirk of a smile on his lips.

"I'm not concerned about your safety, demon, I'm assuring my freedom. I don't know this world or this realm. If you get caught or die over there then I'll find myself in a very bad situation if I'm stuck here"

"Can you defend yourself?" He asked after a few seconds.

"I'm not a child" Itachi retorted.

"That's not what I asked"

So Itachi relayed all of his exceptional achievements and was glad when the demon seemed overwhelmed and possibly impressed.

"Will that suffice?" He asked finally, perhaps a bit proud of himself.

"Not a trace of any wolf-kind in there" The demon noted, and Itachi buried his anger. _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic._

"I told you before of my disability" He said plainly.

"You're not at a disadvantage for being a Uchiha and a wolf, you know" Maybe he hadn't been, but his father hadn't seen it like that. "You're a hybrid"

"No. I'm not" Itachi deadpanned. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't fully sentient or existent or competent as both individual aspects in order for him to be complete as a successful merger of both. He'd been an exceptional student, a Uchiha clan prodigy, but his deteriorating eyesight was a stain on that to begin with.

The Incident that caused him to be infected with wolf-blood had been an accident, and certainly not tested or approved. It had improved his senses and his skills, repaired his eyesight, _back then - at that point -_ he would have classed himself as a possible hybrid. At fifteen years of age he was destined to be greater than any of the Uchiha's super-human legacies, able to surpass the capabilities of an average wolf.

But that was then, before his father had realised that his eldest son was _infected,_ before he realised what an abomination he housed, before he could understand the possibilities and limitlessness of his situation.

"You're unique" The demon told him.

"I'm ineffective. I can't function as…as a wolf" He wondered if he'd ever said it out loud before. He'd admitted to the years he'd spent not changing, the demon had seen for himself that Itachi couldn't and didn't change around the full moon. The other likelihood was that the transformations were linked to emotional peaks, but it wasn't as if Itachi had a broad range of those to exhibit. Even if he did, he'd still be ineffective. The only characteristics that had come out were the playful ones, but Itachi supposed they would considering that he hadn't had the same childhood that Sasuke had been offered - a playful one with other kids. He'd been kept separate, focussed.

"You have it in your system. You _can"_ The demon persisted.

"You don't understand" Was Itachi really going to explain? Could he? _Had_ he ever? "I can't make this any clearer, demon. My ability to function as a wolf is nonexistent. It's been irretrievably beaten out of me"

He covered his lips as soon as he'd finished, shock creeping onto his face. He'd never admitted to Fugaku's abuse, Sasuke and his mother had to have known but neither could do anything about it. Days before his sixteenth birthday and he was still just a boy, powerless to fight back against the might, the weight of the decisions of his father.

Fugaku wouldn't have wolfs blood contaminating his blood line. He refused to have a son who relied on animalistic strength, who lost control of himself in order to tap into that strength, and had taken the steps to ensure Itachi could never do it.

For the first few days of his torture he had tried to reason with his father, to make him see the possibilities. He mourned the loss that his fathers tactics would eventually bring to his newfound, limitless powers.

His father's psychological and physical torture - coaxing the wolf's abilities out of his son, only to beat it back with one or the other - reigned superior after the first five days. That had been all it took - five physical days, one hundred and twenty hours and the sheer power and might of Fugaku's force to break Itachi's young mind. After that, he could no longer encourage his body to change or shift or tap into any of the wolf's abilities. By the end of the week, he welcomed death over everything.

He was regularly tested, half a year's worth of persistence in order to make sure that any trace of Itachi's wolf abilities were void. He could no longer access the strength, could no longer feel any sort of attachment to his previous wolfish curiosities. He was a plain, extraordinary Uchiha again, only now he'd lost his fathers respect, his family's adoration, and his own self pride. He lived for Fugaku's orders, seeing no other purpose to his existence, and when his eyesight was reported to be deteriorating, Itachi suspected his death every day.

His blood was tainted and he couldn't continue his bloodline. He'd never even considered children.

His family saw him differently now, a weakened, corrupt sliver of a thing. His achievements as a child had been hopeful, but now he was simply an error in their plans.

And then the demon had come and taken him away.

Those wolf-like tendencies had come back; he had to force himself to keep calm instead of getting angry. He toyed with the demon, back chatted him and enjoyed it. He'd snooped around the house like a curious pup, made games of stupid things. All because of the demon.

Perhaps, if those tendencies were sneaking back, maybe the wolf's abilities were still intact somewhere, as the demon supposed. Maybe he could… _turn,_ and perhaps…. _attack._ The thought made him giddy, a new skill to master - something fresh to learn.

"It's unreliable" Itachi said. He hadn't known how long he'd been lost in his memories, but the demon was still looking at him. "I can't guarantee anything other than my instincts and senses"

"Fine" The demon said simply, leaving only one thing left for Itachi to resolve.

"Sasuke's safety" He pointed out. "How long is he under your protection?" The demon seemed to think about this for a moment.

"Until you can provide otherwise"

Relief flooded him. "Why?" He asked, almost breathless. Sasuke had nothing to do with the demon, nothing other than setting him up to kidnap Itachi at least, surely the boy meant nothing to him. Why would he waste resources on protecting a boy?

"I have more than one motive for keeping that boy alive" He said slowly. "He won't be harmed - even if anything happens to me"

Itachi believed it. He wasn't sure why, but he did. He was curious about the other motives though.

"So when do you plan to do this?" Itachi asked. "Getting into Kennex?"

"Tonight"

"That doesn't give me very long"

"We don't _have_ very long" The demon reminded him, shoving his chair back.

"This acquaintance," Itachi watched as the demon went to the cabinet and brought out a bottle. When he opened it, he recognised the smell as the same liquid he had in the glass before. "It's an awful lot to risk for someone that doesn't sound very close to you"

"It's a domino effect" The demon admitted carefully, pouring his drink into the glass.

"So if your blonde acquaintance dies, it'll affect someone close to you" The drink was downed and the demon watched him cautiously. "Your wife?" A smile cracked through. "Or your children, perhaps?"

"That was a joke, wolf" The demon smiled. "I don't have a wife and three kids; I have a hodge-podge family of nutters and they mean the world to me. More than my own life" _The Akatsuki?_ Itachi suspected.

"I see" Itachi said softly. "And one of them is in danger?"

"All of them, all the damn time" The demon admitted and then turned away. He looked angry that he'd said it, and Itachi wondered why. _Another story for another time?_ "He's my youngest brother" He said guardedly. "He's…." The demon was reluctant to go on, Itachi knew, though it seemed unfair that the demon knew of Sasuke and Itachi knew very little of his family in return. "If the _blonde acquaintance_ dies, so will he" He said, his hands once again at fists at his side.

"So you return with the antidote, and your brother will be released?"

"You misunderstand" He said, pouring another drink. Itachi watched and it was gone within another second. "My little brother won't live without him by his side. I could care less for the blonde bastard, but knowing the sway he holds over my brothers decision to live…I won't risk it. I need that antidote" Another drink was poured, and this time, Itachi caught it before the demon could drink it.

"So…tonight?" He confirmed, smelling the liquid briefly before raising it to his lips.

"Tonight" The demon settled back, his forearms on the counter top. Sucking up his courage, Itachi sipped the drink and -

 _Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic, Uchiha-stoic._

The demon chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13

By nightfall, they had a plan.

"You don't have to come" The demon offered for the third time. Itachi shook his head, hands steady at his side.

"There are too many variables I can't account for; you'll need me"

"You keep telling me that" The demon murmured, glancing at the opening portal. "I don't need to be reminded - I'll keep my word on your freedom" Itachi didn't care. He'd remind the demon of his usefulness and his aid for the entire mission if it meant that the demon would allow him his freedom afterwards.

Itachi stepped closer encouragingly and the demon offered his hand. Itachi really wondered if it was necessary, but did it all the same. Hand in hand, some shadow and nausea later, and they were through into a familiar section of the Uchiha Corps Facility.

"Left" The demon whispered, already moving as per their plan, keeping to the walls as he did. Itachi kept behind him and scattered his senses. Patrols were regular, especially the closer they got to Kennex.

"Stop" He grabbed the demon's arm and they both froze. When the threat had passed, Itachi nudged the demon forwards. They progressed according to plan, navigating their way closer to their destination.

"This is it" The demon craned his neck around the corner and pulled back. "Round there"

"Hn" Itachi agreed. He'd done this a thousand times, walked down this corridor a thousand times, it felt strange to be pinned to the walls and the shadows like a criminal. And possibly a bit exciting.

"Four guards" The demon's senses told him. Before they'd left, he'd provided two small amulets which Sealed them from being detected - a shield of sorts. Itachi hadn't asked about the weight of the magic it held as he put it around his neck. Those four guards wouldn't sense them coming if they were right in front of their eyes.

Itachi recited their names as per the rota that had been in place. He could sense that nothing had changed and that those four were still the same. He'd suspected the rota would change, or even that more would be placed there. He sensed a trap, kept his instincts alert and nodded to the demon.

He distracted them with kunai's at the wall - Itachi was embarrassed at how all four of them fell for it so easily. Once they were distracted, the demon opened a portal behind them all and swiftly knocked them into it. In a matter of seconds, they were inside the door and still with anticipation.

Itachi felt cold - the demon had eventually explained what happened to those that got Lost in the portals with no guide. He didn't think about it too much.

They moved through the building's outer rooms swiftly, Itachi ignoring the demon as he pitched more and more workers into his sporadically appearing portals without a second thought. Itachi considered the families of the workers, but couldn't recall any of the demon's victims actually having anybody to go home to. Once the first outer section was secure, the demon paused.

"You can still go back" He told him.

"No" Itachi moved purposefully to the other door. He knew the passcodes, could _hack_ them if he didn't, and it might buy them a little more time than if the demon went alone. When he tried the code for the door - the one he knew - he expected it to fail, of course Fugaku would've changed it.

When it did, he moved to plan B. When that jammed, he grew hesitant. He'd told the demon he could hack it -

A pair of cold fingers flicked his out of the way, tapping in the digit code.

"How?" He frowned at the demon.

"My other Ace" He admitted. "This was the easy part last time" The door opened and he lowered his voice. "Through there is where it gets complicated. This would be easier if those bloody sensors weren't there" The demon uttered, briefly checking Itachi was still close by. The Uchiha said nothing.

The demon went on the attack, sending the workers through portals or killing them outright. Itachi prevented any alarms from being raised and stopped them from alerting the other sections of the building. If the alarms were triggered, the building would lock itself down completely. Only Fugaku had the ability to reopen it, or set it to self-destruct - both precautionary measures should the information fall into the wrong hands - like the demons.

As long as Itachi kept an eye on that, the demon could focus on the difficult bit. Though, he didn't seem to be having too much trouble with the killing.

In a minute, everyone was either dead, vanished, or unconscious. The demon looked about at the remaining bodies, sceptically, the ones Itachi had left.

"Some have families" Itachi said quietly. The demon didn't like it, but they didn't have time to correct it.

"This is your last chance" The demon said quietly, as they approached the main room. "I won't ask again"

"I won't tell you again" Itachi gave a nod. "You need me"

Inside that room would be thousands of vials, containers, test tubes with everything imaginable in them. From blood samples, concoctions, viruses and cures - it was all carefully and methodically organised. There were hundreds of filing cabinets with recorded data and information, hundreds of workers with thousands of potential information. The demon couldn't imagine it.

Before, the demon had made the mistake of thinking he could get in on his own. He had planned to use the same surprise method that was used to get him out of the UCF in the first place - but it was unpredictable and couldn't guarantee that information wouldn't be lost or destroyed in its effects.

He couldn't portal directly into that section of the building because it was protected with those sensors. Those sensors scrambled the pin-point needed for a portal to work ( _the demon had explained that a 'pin point' was like seeing your final destination before you got there)._ As his destination was scrambled, it had sent him in the opposite direction - to the other end of the facility. While he could physically get close to the rooms inside of the building, portalling anywhere near it was futile.

Itachi had asked how the demon had managed to get inside of Itachi's room that time, and he'd simply said _'Safety for information'_ and Itachi blamed his brother. The demon then explained that for the portals to work, all he needed was a specific image in his head, be it real, or a drawing of the room he had to reach, or - as Itachi had supplied - specific blueprints. Though they'd gone over those for the facility, it was still guarded with those sensors and completely useless for anything other than planning.

Physically breaking into Kennex was the only way to get into that room with those files.

Itachi kept out of sight until the demon had incapacitated all of the people in the final room, and then Itachi began looking through the files on the desk. His organisational system was still used, and he hoped that if anything like experimenting _outside_ of the facility really was being done, the culprits would be smart enough to _not_ put it on the network. That meant he was looking for a handwritten journal, by whoever was now in charge. His rerouted any spare energy into his eyes, desperate for a clear-cut vision.

The demon wasn't willing to surrender the name of the blonde, not considering what Itachi had managed to find out when he'd searched 'Kisame'. He assumed it was fair, the demon was trying to protect his family - The Akatsuki - but it really would've made the process a whole lot easier if he could narrow it down by a name or a species. The demon had left that out too, but that reluctantly-shown seven-second recording of the symptoms showed him enough. He recalled it, the writhing, feverish blonde and all of his agony. Itachi had guessed from the fangs that the dying blonde was probably a vampire.

He judged the extremity of the poison used and went from there, the demon keeping watch as he sifted through the files and searched for any external attacks on vampires. He went with his gut instinct, finding a horrible account of an attack on a rogue and very old vampire one night, something about vivisecting and research…. _Deidara?_

"There" The demon's hand slapped onto the page right on top of the name. "That's it - what's it mean?" He said quietly, eyes scanning the numbers and graphs and chemical combinations. Itachi's eyes were prickling, protesting at having his sharp vision forced.

"How long has he been like this?" He read quickly, knowing his sight would probably soon give out for a while.

"Weeks" The demon was worried, his eyes wider, his breaths quicker. "The cure?"

"It's a test - an experiment" Itachi flicked through the file, his gut wrenching, not daring to blink. "They haven't got an antidote yet"

"Fuck!" The demon slammed the table and seethed. "No fucking way, not a fucking chance"

"Anger won't-"

"Shut up, wolf" The demon grated, his whole body trembling, his eyes hovering over the papers. "Does that shit say what made it?"

Itachi nodded, pointing out a list of the initial chemicals and an identification code for the poison itself. He hastily translated it into something easier to understand, telling Kisame to search for a folder with the same identification code on it - a history, a record of the poison with more in depth information should be inside it. The demon found it and snatched it up, just as Itachi had finished writing his revisions. He paused, feeling a familiar sensation run across his nerves.

 _Sasuke?_

He turned, seeing the boy run into the room, slowing at the bodies and then bolting straight for the demon.

"They're coming!" The boy caught his breath, eyes on the papers. "Did you find it?"

"These will have to do"

Itachi watched as the demon handed Sasuke the papers.

"Your other Ace" Itachi realised. "You've been _using_ him?" He blinked rapidly, his eyes feeling dry and overused. As expected, his sight began to blur.

"Your safety for information, wolf" The demon grated, looking at the file in Itachi's fingers. Just how much information had Sasuke given him?! "Is that useful?" Itachi gave a stiff nod. The file was snatched from his fingers, given to Sasuke.

 _Sasuke? Working with the demon? For how long?_

Knuckles to the wall, a shadow later, and Itachi had to stop the demon.

"What are you doing?" He'd seen the others get shoved into the portal and Lost. He understood what happened to those Lost people who went through without the demon and his brother would _not -_

Someone stepped _out_ of the shadow and Itachi blinked in confusion. He realised that he'd never seen somebody else come out of the demon's portals, other than the demon himself. It was a small and calm red blur that made Itachi's senses scream _'threat!'._ He was so very confused, so turned around and his sight was failing rapidly by the second.

Sasuke took the red head's outstretched arm without question. There was a clear trust, and that confused Itachi more than anything. Sasuke's trust wasn't easily earned. The demon pushed Itachi towards the portal and he stumbled, Sasuke reaching for Itachi's hand. The red head tugged his impatiently.

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, tugging against the red head, his hand outstretched. Was he meant to go with them? He turned to the demon, the blue blur who shoved him closer.

"What are you doing?" He asked the demon, who seemed more than willing to get Itachi through that portal too.

"Go!" He snapped and Itachi quickly reacted. They'd both sensed the Anbu members moving in, coming closer. Itachi shoved Sasuke closer to the portal, watching as the realisation hit his brother.

"Father and Anbu" Sasuke said quickly. "Watch out for-" But the red head had already pulled him through and the portal closed directly after.

Itachi tensed. Kisame yelled.

The papers had gone with Sasuke, presumably to wherever the demon had wanted them to go. An antidote could probably be made from the initial report, but whether or not that blonde would be alive to see it take effect he wouldn't know.

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" The demon hissed, grabbing Itachi's shoulders.

"Why did you need me?" Itachi realised, wondering what he'd actually done. He'd found the papers, yes, translated them into simpler terms, yes, but couldn't Sasuke have done that?

"Not even your brother could've got in here, found and decoded those papers; He said so himself. I thought I could make do but I was wrong" The demon admitted. "I gave him a clear path - you got him the papers. He'll get them to where they need to be" As Itachi had suspected. His senses prickled as he picked up his father's energy moving closer with those Anbu members - someone must've alerted them.

"Nobody could decipher those notes like you could. I didn't need your strength, Itachi. I just needed your head. Just wanted to know if you could handle the repercussions" The demon said quickly, their hands together as he opened up another shadow-portal. "How are your eyes?"

"Useless" He admitted. "You used me"

"You knew I would. Move" It was true. He'd expected this. So why did he feel so betrayed when the demon had pushed him away? The demon tugged him closer to the portal but Itachi stumbled on something.

"-ANBU" He warned the demon too late. When they turned, they'd already been trapped and surrounded, the demon wrenched from his side with a force that Itachi didn't expect. The shadowy-looking portal closed instantly.

Half way across the room, the demon's solid body slammed into the wall, struggling to remain upright, but Itachi had felt the impact.

He listened as they assaulted him in their masses. The demon was almost unconscious, bleeding from his nose and mouth and pinned to the floor by five blurry Anbu members with weapons probably digging into his limbs. The Anbu members then dragged the demon's body away and left Itachi alone with his father.

 _Shit._

"Itachi" He tensed, watching as another blurry, white-ish body materialised into the air."You're home"

"Orochimaru" Itachi let himself panic for a moment and then readied his defences and attacks. Apparently the bastard had been promoted in his stead, in his _place._ Itachi recognised his old white lab uniform. It made sense, the demon was right in saying that the experiments had been taken out of the facility. Orochimaru was undoubtedly the one to do it - he was a madman with a flair for the abominable. It made his skin crawl.

"Father" He acknowledged Fugaku but the man said and did nothing.

He expected a punishment, a reprimand. He always did.

Fugaku turned and walked away and Itachi knew to follow. Could he fight back? Could he do anything at all to the man he called his father? He couldn't leave, not without the demon and his shadow-portal and he hadn't a clue where Anbu would have taken him. He was also at a serious disadvantage as long as his sight was failing; he'd need a few hours and no punishments in order for it to recover to its best. Even his 'best' was getting worse.

"What exactly did you expect, Itachi?" Orochimaru stepped in time with him, at his side the whole way to the interrogation blocks - he knew the route with his eyes closed, it was the only thing of importance at the end of it.

Itachi didn't say anything.

"You might need this" Orochimaru leaned in and took his arm - and a pinch later Itachi felt a rush of adrenaline. "Loosen you up a little" The man grinned and Itachi felt all of his wolfish senses burst into life.

He could smell everything behind each of the doors, could hear Orochimaru's heart - a constant steady beat - alongside Fugaku's calm and rhythmic one. He could hear the demon struggling for consciousness somewhere close by - smell the copper-like blood that was around him so much that it burned the insides of his nose.

This wasn't feeling so good.


	14. Chapter 14

Fugaku had him beaten firstly. Itachi had been expecting an interrogation, surely his father would want to get the most information that he could out of him before doing his damage. But no, he'd bypassed any sort of information-gathering and had gone straight for the physical - something Itachi was used to but thought was rather unproductive.

Whatever Orochimaru had given him had faded and he felt weaker because of it. He'd heard nothing from the demon, the guards did nothing and stood silent as his father's guards brought him to the brink of death. Itachi expected them to kill him, he'd almost longed for it.

When they didn't, he was confused, but then it fit. Of course, why would Fugaku make it so easy for him. Day after day he was beaten and punished for his crimes, his Uchiha-superiority and super-human abilities causing him to heal every night, but not completely; it was just enough for it to hurt in full force the next time around, but never enough for his eyesight to make a good attempt at recovery either.

They fed him, gave him water to drink as if he was one of them again - and as soon as he was a bit better than the 'brink of death', they took their torture up a notch.

It became a ridiculous routine. He was used as a punching bag in the morning and then a warm up for their blade-and-weaponry assault in the afternoon. That caused the most damage, so they finished off the evening with a 'surprise'. He hadn't figured out a pattern to those yet. The first day it had been his father, the second had been a drug that paralysed him for the whole night, the third had been a bunch of flowers that had driven him _quite_ mad, and the fourth had been a tray of food. It had been drugged with narcotics and he forcefully slept, waking to find himself completely tied up with razor-wire.

Itachi wondered if it was all an illusion, tried to sense anything in order to pick up on it, but he'd realised after a few tries that it just _wasn't._ His father was allowing him to be tortured repeatedly and he was doing it in reality. He wondered briefly if the demon was alright, and then blamed him for his entire situation. That kept him going for a few days; hating the demon kept his mind straight, gave him a focus - something continuous and simple to keep a hold of.

He thought of the demon when his broken fingers wouldn't do anything, when his fractured bones were too damaged to move and those blades were still speared through his shoulders like cocktail sticks through a lemon slice. That had been the days surprise, fancy new weapons that they just _had_ to test - and why not on the supposedly, _allegedly,_ second-most powerful member of the clan while he was half-conscious with blood loss and tied up, almost blind and Sharingan-less? He hardly felt like the same person - this weak man wasn't him.

But then the doubts crept in as he realised that he'd _chosen_ to go with the demon. Sasuke had _helped._ He'd (potentially) saved someone's life and had made a friend - the demon.

It did seem rather childish in the grand scheme of things, having been controlled by his fathers will for so long, bribed into his misdeeds using Sasuke, all of the demons and creatures he _had_ killed, that he _had_ investigated… his miniscule amount of self-worth was just that, a miniscule amount. But the demon made it just a little more, and he couldn't hate him for that. Not really.

He was coping with the pain, numbed to his treatment and uncaring of that days particular 'surprise'. He wondered at the irony when his mother walked in, the guards leaving them alone. Itachi was bound and tied up - barely conscious and not a threat.

She washed the blood from his head, keeping her focus switching between the water bowl, the cloth, his wounds and the floor.

She never looked at him, didn't say a word. She took off his shirt and cleaned the probably-infected wound that those insane spears had left. He grit his teeth as she moved the cloth over it, felt his back chill as the water ran down it, watched as the tainted water ran rose-coloured across the floor.

When she was done, she offered him a drink. Having been drugged during his last bout of food, he was cautious. But she was his mother, she'd _helped,_ and she didn't give him a choice. She raised it to his lips and tipped it. Like a child, he accepted it, even as he watched her tears fall through his own failing eyesight. The glass was removed, set aside, and she knelt across from him, hands in her lap, her pale fingers clenched into fists.

After a few seconds, he felt nauseous. His heart sped up to counter his panic, his body breaking out in a cold sweat. His eyes widened as his breath came in gasps, his body struggling against its binds.

"I can't do anything else" She said, so softly he wasn't sure he heard it. "This is all I can do. I'm so sorry"

Those feelings rushed back, just like they had when Orochimaru had given him that drug only much stronger. He could hear his mothers unsteady heartbeat like his own, could hear any movements outside his door, on the other side of the walls, above and below him. Had they always been that loud?

His limbs ached, his body seizing up.

 _What has she done?_

She got up, taking the glass, the bowl and the cloth with her. The guards let her out and turned their backs on Itachi, just as they had been doing when he _wasn't_ being tortured.

 _Something feels wrong._

He suffered with it for what seemed like an age, battling the fever against the cold chill and lethargy of his limbs against their sudden rigidness. His mind flitting between _blank_ and pain - he was _done._

He'd have yelled for death if his body wasn't being so tormented. He could barely gasp, or make a sound - his body was tearing itself apart.

 _No,_ he realised, in a lulled moment. _It's changing._

The pain though unbearable was familiar. He'd been fighting it because subconsciously he _knew_ that it'd end - it _had_ to end. But why?

 _Not possible._ His brain refused and the pain shot through his system. _Not. Possible._

When the building began to rumble, the alarm sirens going off, he felt an odd sense of familiarity at that, too. It was the same ominous gathering of _bad_ that he'd sensed when the small red head had stepped through the portal, and then again when the demon had been 'rescued' last time.

But that was something else to worry about - if he was _right,_ and he _was_ changing and it was _possible_ for it to happen - then he needed to focus on that.

 _Why?_

No. He didn't have time to question himself, to debate with himself what was right or wrong or why he should fight _against_ something that the demon had been so sure was a natural part of him. Why deny it? The demon hadn't - he'd enforced it.

 _Wolf._ He tried to make himself see it, see himself as an animal like that, but he just couldn't. All he heard was his fathers voice, _'You're a Uchiha, boy. You're not an animal - you're not like_ them', and feel the repercussions of his counter arguments. The Genjutsu, the psychological damage that he probably _still_ hadn't recovered from. All those illusions that ensured he'd never be able to fully look at a four-legged animal in the same way ever again. The accompanying physical methods that had reflexively shot his nerves whenever he tried to show his father what use a half-wolf could be.

His nerves still stung when he thought of it, shook unsteadily.

The guards dropped to the floor outside of his cell, their blood dribbling under his cell door. He could smell it like he'd drank it, the metallic scent scalding his mouth.

He felt his nerves extend, could feel everything from the tip of his ears to the tip of his tail. His eyes were better but not perfect - but objects were distinguishable and his far-sight was noticeably clearer.

Itachi looked down, his hands were black paws. He'd done it. _He'd done it._

A pale body whipped a scythe in an arc, more blood raining down the walls of the cell block. Itachi watched as the demon stilled, the scythe lowering as their eyes locked. He didn't know whether to attack the person in front of him or not. Logic said to get out - and he was standing on the other side of the door. Itachi warned him - tried to warn him - but it came out as a growl.

"Found 'im!" A pale demon? He couldn't tell exactly, the colour was draining from his vision - black and white taking its place. This demon was pale and light, but his body was aglow compared to the darkness of the halls. His aura was shadowed and masked, his eyes completely black. Odd, Itachi had been sure they'd held come colour before. He blinked. Everything was in black and white - greyscale and dull.

 _True forms,_ his mind supplied. _A demon's eyes are soulless, completely black. You can see that now._

Another shadow appeared at the cell door, a complete contrast to the pale, shirtless demon. This one's eyes glowed, his body dark and covered though still dripping with blood. A different kind of demon?

"Got him!" He called down the corridor, whacking a bloody handprint onto the cell door. Itachi perceived it as an attack and growled, teeth bared. He hated how his father was right - how the animal seemed to take over - but the power was something else. He felt entirely in control of it.

The two strange demons left in a whirlwind of blood and rock and dust - the building rumbling in their wake. Was it them? Had they been the ones to break the demon out of the cells the first time? Had they come again, this time?

"Itachi" Hackles raised, sensing a trap, he turned. "Ah shit" The demon was larger, darker, his eyes blackened and lifeless. Itachi longed for the blue skin, those oddly sharp eyes - the playful smirk - or that coy grin. "Easy," The demon lowered himself, crouching down with his palms downwards. Ever so slowly, though Itachi growled his warning the whole time, the demon extended his hand. "Still me" He said quietly, trying not to startle him. It was true, the demon still smelt like the demon - but he didn't look right.

 _Not right,_ his head told him. _Demon._

 _But it's Kisame,_ Itachi reminded himself. _The-demon-Kisame._

"That's it" The demon's hand was still as Itachi recalled the scent, nose to his palm, trying to picture the blue demon he knew and not this soulless being in front of him. It was hard, getting the wolf to think the same thing that he was - they were like two separate beings. _Of course it'll take some adjusting._

The demon's hand twisted slightly, trying to catch Itachi's ear like an owner would do to a pet dog. Itachi didn't like it, swiped his paw and lunged. The demon's arm came up and his jaw locked onto that, piercing the skin, the blood gushing in his mouth.

 _Bad,_ he thought. _Bad, bad, bad._

The demon barely flinched.

"Think of Sasuke" As soon as the demon said it, flickers of memories pulsed in his mind. Sasuke as a boy, the ball they used to play with. Sasuke calling his name and Itachi ignoring it, Sasuke hugging him and Itachi awkwardly hugging back, Sasuke as a tiny child that refused to walk more than ten steps before being carried. "I can't take you back like this. I need you to change back"

Itachi growled, his mouth vibrating against the demon's arm.

"Think of Sasuke" More images, more memories, only this time the demon filtered into some of them. "I'm sorry it took so long" The demon's other hand slowly fell on Itachi's feather-like head, brushing it back. Itachi stilled. "I thought they'd be interrogating you; when I realised they weren't…"

But surely, Anbu had the demon? "Itachi, I don't know if you can understand me, but please". _Stop that,_ Itachi felt sleepy, the repetitive motion of the demons hand over the back of his head… _I like it…_ he realised. The building rumbled, but he felt quiet and calm and peaceful. Was it the blood loss? Was it something else? "Change back"

Itachi felt himself shudder, and then fall against the demon. His arms gave out, his knees buckled and there he had it - he was back. His clothes were barely hanging on, but he was back.

"Atta' boy" The demon was blue, his eyes no longer black but their odd, sharp colour. His grin was back, albeit softer, as he helped Itachi turn around and steady himself upright, sat on the floor in possible shock.

"Hey," The demon reached a hand and brushed back Itachi's disarray of hair. "I told you"

"It's not…something….good" He breathed, his voice almost a whisper. "I don't…like it"

"I'm sure you'll adapt" The demon reasoned, as the building rumbled around them.

"I don't want to"

"You will; you're just not used to it. It's been years, like you said" The demon got up, ignoring the giant wound on his arm and stepped over to the nearest wall, ready to open a portal.

"I deserve ….to die" His father would kill him for being able to turn like that. Itachi would probably kill someone because he couldn't control the thing, and with his luck he'd kill Sasuke - the only living family member that he actually cared about.

The demon slapped him. He thought he might've reacted to it, shock or agony or something, but he didn't. He deserved anything he got - he was a monster. His father couldn't cure it. Itachi couldn't be _rid_ of it. What use was it?

"You're a fucking hybrid" The demon knelt down, ignoring the wall now and seizing Itachi's jaw. "You're a fucking Uchiha, and a refreshed pup-of-a-wolf. It'll take time - but you'll get there. Whatever he's been telling you - forget it. It's been an hour since we separated, Itachi - don't let his psycho-shit fool you. Forget. Him"

"An hour?" He echoed. "Forget it?" Itachi shook his head. He couldn't see it, couldn't see where his future would take him at all. The building crumbled and someone yelled, _'Two minutes!'._

"I'll argue with you at home" The demon stood, fist to the wall and a shadow portal opening. Why hadn't he done that sooner? Got himself out sooner? Just _left_ already. Everything had been fine before the demon had come along- "I _will_ force you" The demon promised, his eyes pinning Itachi to the ground. "You are coming back with me" _De-ja-vu._

"No" Itachi said. "I don't want to"

"If you stay here, your father will kill you" He said simply, and Itachi didn't doubt it. "You _said_ you didn't want to stay. I _want_ you to come back with me" Itachi didn't move. "I want _you,_ why aren't you getting that? You're sat there thinking your self worth is lower than hell - fine, I fucking want you! _I want you"_

"Why?" Itachi finally looked at the demon properly, the frustration clear on his face.

"I've already told you" The demon extended his hand. "I'm a sucker for lost causes and yours seems to be deteriorating rapidly. Constantly. _Repeatedly"_

"I deserve it"

"Fucking hell" The demon muttered. "I _will_ force you!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to die" Itachi's arm was seized; he wasn't sure how he'd gotten closer if he had, or even if the demon had finally reached closer.

"If you want, we can discuss feelings and debts and shit afterwards but this building will be flattened soon and I'd rather we not be here when that happens. I'm not asking you" Itachi was pulled into the demon's chest with the same arm that he'd bitten, its blood making a glorious red marble effect. A shadow and some nausea later, and they were somewhere else.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ah, I missed you, baby" The demon quickly kissed the ring on his finger and Itachi realised two things. One, the demon wasn't making those portals - the ring was. And Two, the ring had been taken at some point - probably given to his father. Either the demon stole it back, or he obtained a new one. He was betting on the former; that kind of power in a ring wasn't natural, or containable. It was rare and very powerful.

"The ring…makes the portals?" Itachi asked, cautiously looking at the object more closely.

"Smart, eh?" The demon grinned. "It's got all kinds of tricks I'm glad you're okay" The demon crossed the room to the table by one of the sofas and fiddled with something out of view.

"Was it really only an hour?" Itachi's voice sounded ghostly to himself, and it must've done to the demon too.

"Near enough. How long did it feel like?"

"A week…"

Kisame slowed, looking at him worriedly. Itachi thought it was an odd expression on him.

"Sit down" He said gruffly, and Itachi moved cautiously over to the sofa the demon was next to, realising too late that it was rather clean and blood-free. He was covered in muck, dirt, dust and blood and the sofa was going to suffer because of it. Itachi eyed his clothes, wondering if there'd be a way to-

"Don't worry about the blood" Kisame said, rummaging in one of the side cupboards and tugging out a basket. "It'll wash out" He set to work on Itachi's wounds instantly, the woven basket an instant first-aid kit of sorts. "How are your eyes now?"

"I can see you" Surprisingly. He wondered if it had something to do with his wolf-change, if it was either a lingering effect, or if his wolf-sight had perhaps effected his normal-sight. Was that possible? He didn't know - and being suppressed for so long, it wasn't as if he could use evidence from other cases. His were unique in all respects. He'd have to figure it out for himself.

Itachi took his mind of the pain and looked around the room, testing them.

A warm log-cabin greeted him. The room was spacious and had a warm glow because of the large log fire, and there were blankets and slippers everywhere. The sofa chairs were stuffed with cushions, the wooden flooring had a few rugs and the whole place smelt like… like ginger. He'd been expecting to be taken back to the same place in South of France, but….

"This isn't South of France" Itachi said quietly, watching a smile creep onto the demon's face.

"Home" Was the response.

"One of?"

" _The"_ The demon said surely.

"The?"

"The one and only" The demon said, still smiling. Itachi didn't have a response, wasn't sure he understood it entirely, but it'd do for now. "Arcane Territory" The demon added. "Middle of nowhere. Ours" Itachi nodded slowly, feeling the amulet still miraculously around his neck. He felt his senses pick up on something else. He turned.

"Are you two okay?" The demon suddenly called, standing up. Itachi hadn't realised, or paid much attention to the demon's actions - but his own severe injuries had been cleaned and bandaged, his pain numbed. The demon worked fast.

Itachi craned his neck, seeing the pale demon step through a portal covered and speckled in blood and grit. Behind him was the dark man with luminescent eyes - _the two demons from before,_ Itachi thought.

"Here" The pale demon tossed Kisame's sword to the ground; "Fucker bit me twice"

"You treated her wrong" Itachi watched as Kisame collected the sword carefully and propped it up against the wall. "You're too violent with her"

"It's not my fault she doesn't like it" The pale demon muttered, quickly storming from the room and leaving bare footprints of blood as he did so.

"I'll be in the lab" The shadowed, light-eyed demon said, following behind the other within seconds.

"Your family?" Itachi wondered, not quite believing it. He'd been subconsciously expecting more blue demons.

The demon went back to fixing Itachi's wounds. After some quiet thought, Itachi had more questions than justifications and the demon had finished his work, now was dabbing at his own wounds. He'd taken one of the alcohol bottles from one of the many cupboards around the sofa's, half drinking it and half using it.

"You need to explain" Itachi asked bravely, turning to the demon who just looked at him incredulously.

"Can't you just appreciate a good thing for a moment?"

"Demon,"

"Wolf," The demon leant in and Itachi jolted back - but the demon caught his chin. "Appreciate a damn good thing or I _won't_ give you your freedom"

"You owe it to me" Itachi said, his hands on the demon's wrist, trying to budge his grip. "I did my part"

"Will you leave?" The demon relinquished his grip with one hand and put the alcohol bottle on a side table with the other. He sprawled his arms over the back of the sofa with his legs spread out, confident, though his injured arm smelt like antiseptic. All traces of his other injuries were gone. Did demons heal that fast?

"My brother," Itachi started. Sasuke would be the first thing he'd sort out - get him away from their father and build them up a life together somewhere else. But then there was the wolf thing. How would he-

"He's living with his friend now" The demon stated, as if it was a good thing. "Yeah, the folks from the park? You remember? The blonde guy lives on his own and your brother offered to pay half the rent so…your brother's fine"

"Where did he go? When he…." When he went back through the portal with that threatening red head. How did he even get there?

"Gaara probably took him back to Naruto's for safety" The demon said with a shrug. Itachi didn't have time to ask any more before he continued. "I didn't plan for you to stay with me in there" The demon sighed, head back. "I had another thing to do - that was why I pushed you into Sasuke at the portal. You were meant to go with him - be safe, _elsewhere,_ with him" Itachi's eyes widened. "I didn't want to risk either of you being caught up in my mess, so you were both meant to leave. You stupidly let go of his hand and stayed"

"So my torture was my fault?" Itachi said quietly. He'd blamed the demon entirely for his imprisonment but if the demon had intended for Itachi to _leave,_ then surely the blame was entirely his own.

"They took my ring" The demon fiddled with the thing on his finger. "It delayed a few things"

Itachi stared ahead. He'd had no idea. He'd thought it had been a talent that the demon had, but instead it was another magical thing? More witchcraft? He was getting quite curious about the source of their powers, he'd admit that.

"Once they took it I couldn't do anything, not with the amount of …advantages…that the facility has. But we have precautions and I always have a fail safe. The others were watching- Hidan and Kakuzu - they knew when to make their move; the building tends to become unstable with-… they're another level of demon, those two. They don't have control over their energies like I do - it often gets a little out of hand"

"The rumbles" Itachi recalled the building's unsteadiness.

"They came and we went and got my ring from your dad. I tried to find you but we had Anbu to deal with - so I sent them to find you instead. I'm sorry I wasn't quicker"

They lulled into a silence where Itachi realised that his brother was perfectly fine on his own. It never occurred to him that Sasuke would be dependent on others - that he _could_ depend on anyone else. Now Itachi knew that, it changed things. He didn't want to interfere; but he had no other plan, not for himself.

"Anyway, you're here and safe. Your brother is there and safe with his friends. I'm not being tracked, interrogated, tortured or otherwise by fucking Anbu and the vampire should be on the mend. You're here. The world is good"

Itachi didn't see the logic in that _at all._ The world was not a good place and that vampire might already be too far gone for the possible antidote to work.

"You've earned your freedom" The demon said quietly. "You can go"

"I'm actually," He started, softly. "Too tired to move" That wasn't what he was going to say, but he'd chickened out. He felt abandoned by his _brother_ no less. He didn't have a plan that didn't involve Sasuke. He needed to think. Besides, he was curious about things.

Sasuke had _friends._ Who were they? Who was this 'blonde' who lived alone? Who was 'Gaara' - the red head? When did his brother become such a criminal? He'd be having words.

What was the demon's other mission? Why did he have to stay? Why force Itachi to leave?

What was the source of their high magical powers? The Seals, the Amulets, the rings?

And that blonde vampire - he'd be giving him a lesson on how _not_ to get caught by the UCF,that was for sure.

"Can we go back to South of France?" Itachi asked, closing his eyes despite telling himself _not_ to go to sleep.

"You don't want to go somewhere else?"

"There's other places?" Itachi flickered open an eye.

"At least eight" The demon's eyes flitted as he counted through them in his head. "Fifteen altogether that are Sealed and safe, one in every realm, at least"

He _had_ said there were more homes. _One of,_ he'd said. And this was _the_ home.

"South of France" Itachi said decisively. "Good food, nice people"

"You're assuming I want to take you back there at all" The demon said, his face suddenly very close. Itachi stilled. "I could drop you on your ass - we're done, wolf. I've no business with you any more"

"Stop it" Itachi ordered, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the demon's close proximity. "That excuse was nullified as soon as you included me in your rescue plan; if you wanted me gone, you could've left me there…and what was all that talk? Hm? Wanting me…"

"Smart ass" The demon huffed, and then Itachi felt himself be kissed.

A severely odd sensation considering it'd happened so little, but he was aware of it all the same.

"I'd kill you if I didn't owe you still" Itachi murmured. "South of France" He instructed.

"Hellfire, if I knew you'd be this bossy I'd have gagged you n' all"

Itachi smirked, feeling his body lull. _Fight sleep,_ he told himself. _Fight it!_

Kisame's hand washed over his head, down the back of his neck. _Not again._ "I have a few things to do here, and then we'll go back"

Just as he felt himself giving in, the red head appeared and whacked Kisame over the head. Itachi blinked, sure that the demon could have evaded it if he wanted to - and that overwhelming feeling of dread and threat had…gone.

"You hate my boyfriend but you'd happily take in a lying, murdering, degenerate of a fuck-up?"

Kisame stood up but didn't move, staying in front of him while facing the clearly angered red head. "Deidara is dying because of him!" Itachi tried to concentrate, realising that this red head wasn't the small, death-threatening thing that had taken his brother at the portal. They looked similar and he suspected they were related, but they weren't the same.

"He also helped get the information that could save him" Kisame said slowly.

"It might not even work - he could have been lying! How could you trust him?" Itachi couldn't work out what the red head was. He wasn't completely a wolf, but…something strange.

"You trusted the vampire" Kisame said evenly. "I trust Itachi"

"You can't even- that's not the same! I've known him for years, you've known him a few days?!"

"How long did it take you to be sure to trust your vampire? A few hours?" Kisame asked, and the red head stilled. Something passed between them and Itachi assumed that it hadn't taken very long - that Kisame was right. _And we've known eachother a few weeks,_ Itachi added silently.

"You don't realise how difficult it was for me to trust Itachi with something like this" Itachi couldn't help the guilt seeping into his nerves - if he'd co-operated sooner, things might have happened more quickly. It was a painful reminder that Itachi had been a last resort, and he wasn't sure if that felt like a good deed on the demon's part or not. "Knowing what Deidara meant to you-"

"Means" The red head scowled. "He isn't dead yet"

"You were going to leave!" Kisame growled. Itachi felt the anger flood around him; the demon had been trying to keep it contained. "You think I'd risk that so easily?" The anger filtered onto his face in seconds. "To risk losing you, by trusting someone that yes - could have been lying, or spying, or damn well wasting my time? You think that was a split second decision?" Itachi watched the red head's fight leave him, his shoulders sagging as he realised the risk that Kisame had taken.

"I used him as a last resort - Kakuzu told me countless times that I had a fucking ace in my pocket, I could have risked it earlier. I didn't. I exhausted every other fucking option, Sasori. Don't you dare think I didn't weigh up the consequences" Sasori? Itachi attached the name to the red head and vowed to remember it, but his brain was tiring. He'd need to sleep soon or he'd probably collapse.

"You're defending him" Sasori murmured, turning to Kisame. "After all those times I defended Dei and you shot me down…looked at him like he was a threat. You expect me to … to just accept him?"

"Itachi can't do anything else, Sasori" Kisame's voice was sure and honest.

"Neither will Dei, because he'll be dead - and it'll be _his_ fault" Itachi knew he was being targeted but was too tired to care. He could feel himself drifting off already.

"I'd like him to stick around" Kisame said cautiously, and Itachi felt his chest clench. "Not here, not yet. But with me"

"I don't care what you do" Sasori said bluntly.

"If you're mad at anyone, be mad at me. I made the decisions" Kisame said slowly, but Itachi could hear the hesitation in his voice. He didn't want the red head to hate him.

"Okay" Sasori nodded once and Kisame looked very concerned. "Enjoy France" He scoffed, turning around and leaving.


	16. Chapter 16

When he woke up, he was fully healed, freshly wrapped in crisp white bed sheets in the navy-blue room in South of France. Eye-status: Surprisingly still quite good. Had his rest contributed somewhat?

His rest…his _sleep._ He'd expected the demon to take full advantage of his sleep-state. The kiss had made his intentions quite clear and while Itachi hadn't reciprocated them, the demon could've done as he wished. Ah, and then the argument had happened with the Gaara-lookalike. Sasori? How had that finished?

Funnily enough, Sasuke was the one he first saw.

"You're embarrassing" The boy said, shifting to face him from the same window seat Itachi had taken a liking to. "I tell Gaara I won't be long because I'm sure you'd be awake, and you're sleeping"

The floaty-after-sleep feeling vanished at the mention of the name 'Gaara' - the threatening aura coated the room and he sat up, alert. Sasuke bobbed off the sill and came over to the bed, sitting at the end.

"The demon?" Itachi asked.

"He's downstairs" Sasuke pulled his legs up and sat cross-legged on the bed. "The UCF is gone" He said bluntly. "If father wishes to do anything more with it, he'll have to rebuild it all and start again; everything was ruined, including everything from Kennex" Itachi motioned for him to continue when he paused. "Orochimaru's missing - so's Kabuto. I don't know how mother is doing - I haven't been back to see…but…" His voice faded with worry and he looked up at Itachi guiltily. "Should we just leave her?"

"She can make her own decisions" Itachi decided. Sasuke dropped his eyes, clasped his hands and rested his forearms on his legs.

"There's something else" He said quietly. "We were wrong to doubt her" Itachi couldn't decipher anything from his brothers face other than guilt. "She never gave up on you, Itachi. She was smart, she played her part and father suspected nothing, nobody suspected anything and the whole time she had it all in her head. Itachi….the stuff she had" Sasuke shook his head, eyes wide. "She'd been collecting it for years. All of it was on you - on what father had done, his treatment of you, how he…he broke you down. She'd destroyed it all as soon as she memorised it, but I found this book that had some notes in it explaining that-"

"What are you saying?" Itachi asked.

"We thought she was turning a blind eye but she wasn't. It might not make up for…for what she didn't do, as a mother should have…. But I can't hate her, Itachi. She tried - and it worked"

"What worked?"

"She gave you something in those cells, didn't she?" Itachi gave another nod. "And you turned - shifted? Wolfed-out?"

"The water…" He remembered.

"She wasn't trying to kill you Itachi. She did it to save you. To help you" He was stunned into silence for a moment. _I can't do anything else,_ she had said. _This is all I can do. I'm so sorry._ His blood felt like ice in his veins. How well she had masked her planning, how wonderfully she'd played her part. How much had she suffered because of it? Sasuke continued quietly.

"I don't know what it was; I'm not sure I want to ask. But it worked, right? And it was all in her head" He said softly. Itachi was too exhausted to wonder whether or not Mikoto considered the fact that by not having done practice tests, the reliability of the product may vary. Would she have cared, perhaps killing her eldest son with the possibility of his canine ability being 'unblocked'? Or had she been utterly confident in her skills? It apparently was worth the risk, or she - like the clan was known for - was a genius. "Years of work" Sasuke was clearly still in awe and crippled with guilt. "Our _mother,_ Itachi. All those years she spent never giving up on you - on what you were, _are._ Finding a way to undo everything father did…"

"Does father know?"

"I don't think so," He replied hesitantly. "But if he does, he hasn't reacted. They've separated for now - mother is staying with her family, I think" Itachi wondered if he owed his mother an apology, but then found himself accepting that her way of bridging their gap had been to help him accept who he was. They were even - anything more could come later.

"How long have you been helping the demon?" He shifted the topic onto something more comfortable - interrogating his brother was something he could cope with.

"Since you caught us in the cell block" Sasuke admitted, fully responsible and back to his blunt self. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why did you help him?"

"You were ignoring me. Are you angry?"

"You set it up out of spite?"

"I'm not a _child"_ Itachi thought it was debatable - he'd always see him as a boy, despite Sasuke being a teenager now. "I was tired of it. You being around me every day and not saying anything was exhausting - I _did_ warn you. I figured it'd be easier if you just got away. If you stayed, I knew father would kick you away for good - possibly have you killed - and then I'd never get to talk to you" Sasuke evidently didn't know about Fugaku's assassination attempt before the demon had saved him. "The demon offered to take you away and keep you safe - all I had to do was give him some information. Are you mad at me for that?"

"Information about the facility?"

"Some" Sasuke admitted. "And about you"

"I figured as much" Itachi glanced to the door, the 'threat' still hanging more strongly there.

"You're angry" Sasuke sighed. "I expected that"

"Not angry - not at all" Itachi shook his head softly. How could he be angry when his actions were out of love? "I should thank you" Itachi bowed his head. "I suppose your plan worked out rather well"

"Hn" When he looked up, Sasuke was smiling.

"I hear you've found your own path?"

"I think so," Sasuke steepled and stilled fingers, growing perhaps a little embarrassed. "My friends are … odd, but they're reliable and I trust them. That's good, right?" Itachi nodded.

"Tell me about them"

Sasuke relayed their names and a fact that he knew Itachi could relate to or appreciate as a good quality to have. He mentioned Naruto first, a fox-demon, who appeared to be a total idiot but he had an endless amount of determination and hope.

He then mentioned a shy girl called Hinata, a Seer, who never failed to be encouraging and optimistic despite her varied visions. He then spoke briefly about Sakura, an aspiring Healer, who was always nice and willing to help. Itachi noticed his brothers smile grow and his cheeks perhaps go a touch pinker. Sasuke quickly moved on to others, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. He always went back to talking about Naruto or Sakura and Itachi concluded that these two were his closest friends.

"Naruto is who I'm living with now" Sasuke said, and Itachi remembered the demon alluding to that before. "He's messy - you'll never be allowed to visit"

"You're alright with it? Living with him?"

"Yeah" Sasuke smiled confidently. "He gives me my own space and we have a rota - I insisted on a rota"

"You sound like Him" Meaning their father.

"He was logical about _some_ things" Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "Rota's, especially" When Sasuke grinned, Itachi deemed it safe ground to broach the topic of the one person Itachi hadn't properly identified.

"Who's the red head?" For all Sasuke's mini-profiles of his new friends, none of them had been a stone-cold, threat-emanating red head.

"Which one?" Sasuke frowned slightly. Itachi blinked; he hadn't been expecting that.

"I believe the demon called him Gaara" There had been another red head, Sasori, but were there more? When he tried to picture it, it was a red, angry, fuzzy blur.

"The demon?" Sasuke grinned and Itachi flinched. "You really still call him that?"

"He calls me wolf. We have an agreement"

"Naruto called me _'teme'_ but I still call him his name"

"It's strange" Itachi shifted on the bed, fiddling with the creases in the sheets. "I can't call him _'Kisame'_ and take it seriously" Sasuke actually laughed and Itachi tossed a pillow at him.

"I like this" The pillow was caught and put aside. "You talking. Us talking - having a conversation"

"You didn't answer my question"

"Hm?" Sasuke blinked.

"Who is the red head? Gaara?"

"Gaara's difficult to explain" Sasuke said softly. "But he's a friend. He's got a severely bad-tempered demon living inside of him and while he can control it, it doesn't make his life easy. That's the threat you're feeling - his demon. But Gaara's fine, mostly"

"He knows the d-..Kisame?" Considering the demon opened the portal that the red head came _out_ of - and then took Sasuke away - it was a fair assumption. And if his theory was correct about the two red heads being related…

"Extended family" Sasuke nodded. "Gaara is cousins with Sasori - also a red head" He then looked up, as if trying to recall something that had been said to him. "Sasori is in a relationship with Deidara - but Gaara hates vampires cause a rogue bunch murdered his parents. Apparently Deidara almost got Sasori killed on a road trip once and that's unforgivable because…well, Sasori's not like the others. He's half something-or-other and mostly human. He and Kisame are really close …." Which would explain why Kisame had almost been looking for approval from him, and why he'd seemed disappointed when the red head hadn't seemed to care an inch.

"And then there's the Theft Incident" Sasuke grinned. "There's supposedly this family picture of Gaara and his siblings, Temari and Kankuro, when they were younger. Sasori had it and Gaara thinks Deidara found it and stole it - hid it somewhere for blackmail" Itachi remembered the family photo stuck under the towels in the bathroom of the first house the demon had taken him to. The small red head, a blonde girl and a brown haired boy - all sat on the grass with happy, childlike faces. He smiled a little at the memory.

"Is Temari a blonde?" Sasuke frowned and Itachi presumed he was right. "Kankuro, brown hair?" Sasuke looked at him suspiciously.

"What…. It's _real?"_ Sasuke gaped. Itachi couldn't help but grin. "Where did _you_ see it? Do you have it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Itachi!" Sasuke tossed the pillow back at him and Itachi let it hit him.

This was what he wanted. A happy brother, a safe place and to feel like himself. He never could've imagined this side of Sasuke, that gossiped about things and had friends that he trusted. It made Itachi ridiculously happy, and even gave him the ridiculous thought that he could have such friends too.

It might not undo all of the bad he'd done at the facility, but perhaps he could use it to his advantage. Use the information he'd gained to help others, like the demon or the blonde or whoever else. He might be going blind, he might have to adapt to a few new wolf-like tendencies, but he still had a working mind. As long as he had that, not everything was lost.

"Um… Oh! He's er… still in a coma or something. The vampire. There's been no effect so far. Kisame's been biting his nails because if he doesn't do something, Sasori's probably going to leave"

"Nothing?" Itachi frowned, sure that something should have come of it by now. "How long has it been?"

"Well it took them a few hours to get the stuff together, but it's been a few days. You've been catching up on your sleep since Kisame brought you back here" Sasuke smirked, knowing that Itachi wasn't one to sleep unguarded. He tried not to let it bother him, and Itachi found that he'd probably had the best sleep he could hope for, and woken up in the safest place he could imagine.

"So you can shift now?" Sasuke asked.

"It'll get better" Itachi replied, optimistic. "I don't want to be a danger"

"I'm sure Kisame can handle it" Sasuke smiled a little. "I should get back to Gaara"

"Can he portal, too?"

"He has a ring ... I don't quite get it - it's a Family thing"

"Family?" He wasn't going to mention the akatsuki out loud until he had solid facts. He had figured out a while ago that whatever Anbu had on file about "Akatsuki" was misleading, and definitely misunderstood. The family wasn't anything like they were portrayed to be.

"Kisame hasn't mentioned them yet? His family?"

"He doesn't have a wife and three kids" There had been the few he'd come across while at Kisame's Home, but he hadn't explained names or relations much. Maybe there _was_ a wife and three kids.

Sasuke chuckled so hard he gripped his stomach and had to gulp in air.

"It's a complicated family - I don't even know everyone yet. They're sort of close knit, like us - but if you get Hidan on a good day, he tells you some funny stories" Sasuke calmed down and sighed. "There's something like eight of them; they all have rings that enable them to travel through worlds - _worlds,_ Itachi. Not just places. From the human realm to the demon one - the Arcane Territories - anywhere can be reached, within reason - one of them is a killer magic-worker - don't know who for sure" Sasuke paused. "But yeah, Gaara got one from Sasori out of - what he called - _'precautionary measures'._ Gaara insisted on it - it's funny, because he's younger than Sasori but Gaara treats him like a child"

"I know someone similar" Itachi said pointedly, and it took a few seconds for Sasuke to realise he meant himself.

"I've never!" Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and Itachi smiled a little. He'd missed so much by not talking to Sasuke - missed so many reactions. The arms slipped and Sasuke seemed to recall something. "I did it for your benefit" He said solemnly.

"I know" Itachi dipped his head. "I'll get changed and then you can leave. I want to thank Gaara and extend my thanks to Naruto, too"

"You can try" Sasuke scoffed and turned his back while his brother changed. Itachi smiled to himself as he opened the wardrobe and found the demon's black clothing. It'd do.


	17. Chapter 17

Itachi thanked Gaara and the red head seemed uneasy. There was no possibility of talking to Naruto - Gaara refused to be a taxi and insisted he had other things to do. He and Sasuke soon left and Itachi was left alone with the demon - in human-form. Presumably the demon was going out.

"You don't stick around for long, do you?" Itachi asked, leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen. The demon simply grinned and Itachi felt his chest tighten.

"You see that, eh?" The demon strode over, curling his finger under Itachi's chin - who promptly shifted it aside. "I'm glad you can see" Itachi wouldn't admit that he could see things a lot better when they were closer to him and easily presumed the demon would've figured it out by himself.

"My sight concerns you, how?" Itachi asked. The demon moved his hand away.

"Your lack of it will"

"Why?"

"You don't need your glasses anymore?" Itachi's eye twitched as the demon ran his finger over his temple.

"They usually help prevent the headaches"

"Because of your eyes? The strain of trying to see?"

"Hn"

"They don't hurt now?"

Itachi found that they didn't. He'd been wearing his glasses less and less due to travelling, but he hadn't noticed too many effects. He'd adjusted to the blurriness.

"If you're going to stay, I need to know whether you're going to be a liability" Itachi frowned in response. "You're going to go blind eventually, right?"

"Hn"

"Then I need to know" The demon stepped closer again. "Will those glasses delay it any?"

"It's unlikely"

"Magic?"

"I accept my fate"

"You're okay with going blind?"

"Nothing can or will change the inevitable. My eyes are damned. If that's a liability to you then-"

"To me?" The demon laughed. "A liability to me? Hellfire, wolf" The demon grinned. "You're something else"

"You either accept it or you don't" Itachi said stubbornly.

"Will my answer change whether you stay or leave?"

"Yes" Itachi knew that it wouldn't. He'd already made up his mind to stay with the demon - he had nowhere else to be or go.

"Then I don't accept it and I'll spend my days making sure you can see your brother get that first kiss from the pink haired girl. I guess you don't need to be here for that"

"Excuse me?" Itachi's eyes may have widened.

"You can leave now" The demon turned his attentions elsewhere, calling Itachi's bluff.

"What did you mean?" When the demon didn't answer, Itachi reached for his arm. "The first kiss, the pink haired girl. Demon!"

"Your brother likes the pink haired girl" The demon turned with a smirk. "Don't you want to see the mischief they'll get up to?"

"Of course" Itachi's grip tightened. "But it doesn't change the fact that I won't"

"You _might._ Will you let me try?"

"No. I've accepted my fate"

"I'm asking you to let me try" Itachi relaxed when the demon pried his fingers off the human-looking arm. "What's the matter, wolf? Don't you like being on the other end of the experimenting?"

He stiffened - how could the demon make jokes about such a thing? He _had_ been on the other end of the experimenting, they both had.

"Fine - fine!" The demon's hands went up in surrender. "I accept you'll be blind enough to not see their grandchildren - your nieces and nephews"

"Grandchildren?" Itachi said softly. The idea made him numb.

"We're getting off topic" The demon sighed. "Look, if you want to go and be on your own somewhere - fine. I'll get the place Sealed and you can live whatever life you want - it'll be my thanks for your help" Itachi wouldn't admit that living 'any life he wanted' would be hard when his eyes stuck out as much as they did. He could invest in some contacts, but again, that idea of them melting -… maybe he would revert back to wearing glasses, if only to keep them hidden.

The human-realm seemed like a decent place to live, away from conflict and the hassles that the supernatural species always seemed to bring. Or maybe the Arcane Territories - similar, but with various other beings all peaceful together…though, perhaps a touch boring without company…

 _South of France was nice. Nice people, good food._

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what you want" The demon said slowly, as if talking to a child. Itachi had missed whatever he'd been saying before and guiltily looked aside.

"I don't know what I want" He wanted what was right in front of him.

"Think for yourself. What do you want to do, right now?" _Many things._ But that wasn't what the demon was asking. He was asking about a future, a plan.

"I don't know" Itachi fisted his hands and turned to walk away. The living room had books, he'd like to read. He'd like to learn something new, would like to _try_ something different. He wanted to be able to cook something. He wanted to be able to try and manage his disability - _no, not that,_ \- his … condition. He wanted to stay in South of France and see the happy, simple people and eat their delicious food. He didn't want to leave. When he turned around to tell the demon as much, he was already standing too close.

"I accept your failing eyesight as a liability. I don't accept that it'll remain one. I'll take all responsibility for your actions if you'll do just one thing; stay with me"

"Hn"

"That a yes?" The demon asked hesitantly, and Itachi gave a nod this time. "Thank fuck for that" The demon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We can go n' eat now" The demon took Itachi's hand and led him to the door; Itachi suddenly realised that it was probably the reason for the Kisame's human form. The door made that odd sound, as if locking itself, and Kisame opened the small gate in the front garden.

"People will still be looking for you - we won't be here long" He explained, closing it after Itachi had passed. "We can stay here for a few more days and then I'm staying Home for a while. Hopefully you'll be coming with me"

"Home" Itachi echoed. "Another house?"

"No. Home" Kisame smiled a little. " _The_ home" Itachi assumed that it was the log cabin in the middle of nowhere. He said nothing more, staying close to Kisame as they entered the village and sought out somewhere to have food. Kisame picked a place and ordered apple juice first, speaking perfect South of France language. The waiter spoke it back and Itachi plainly ordered water. Kisame grinned.

"You're a cheap date, wolf" It stunned Itachi into silence for so long that by the time he'd come up with a response, the demon continued. "If you keep that up and order something stupid like a salad, I'll have to order something for you. I can't have a starved wolf, who knows what you'll eat" Itachi felt his spine tingle, his metaphorical feathers being ruffled.

"I've never tried demon" He mused, and then berated himself for it.

"Did you just _flirt?"_

"Quite…possibly" He murmured. And he'd been ready to shoot the demon down for calling it a _date._

"You know," Kisame leant in. "There's this dish called spaghetti bolognaise - I'd recommend that"

"Why?" Itachi asked suspiciously.

"It's fun to eat"

"Why?"

"It just is" Kisame smirked and Itachi knew it was a trap. When the waiter came back, Kisame ordered something in South of France language that meant nothing to Itachi. When the waiter finished writing down the order, turning to Itachi, the Uchiha pointed to the line on the menu that was _'Spaghetti Bolognaise'._ The waiter nodded, wrote, turned and left with thanks. Kisame's grin didn't falter as they waited, didn't leave as their dishes were served, only grew when Itachi realised how much there was, and finally slipped into laughter when he attempted to eat it.

The strings slipped off his fork, irritatingly. Kisame leant over, fork in hand, and looped up one stringy strand on one prong of the fork. He pulled it up, took one end in his mouth and floated the other end on the fork to Itachi.

"You can't be serious" Itachi blinked. The demon chuckled, looking ridiculous with the stringy strand hanging out of his mouth as he did so. The fork was still in midair, so Itachi leant forwards with as much dignity as he could muster and took the other end of the stringy strand.

He knew where the demon was going with the idea as soon as he started eating his end of the stringy strand. Itachi knew enough to know that this was _not_ how to eat the food. For one, it was ridiculous in such an open place and it would take far too long to eat. He bit off his end with his tongue to his teeth and watched the stringy strand fall down to the demon's chin. He slurped the strand up.

"You'll have to do better than that" Itachi said, poking at the plate of stringy-strands and delicious smelling saucy-meat-thing with a slight smile.

"You're really going to stay?" The demon asked again, poking his fork into Itachi's dinner to grab his attention.

"Hn" Itachi nodded, watching as the fork twisted many of the stringy-strands into a coil.

"Then I have plenty of time" The demon said coyly, lifting up his fork full of stringy-strands with a dab of the saucy-meat-thing on the end. He moved it over to Itachi's mouth. Itachi replicated Kisame's movements perfectly, gathering up his stringy-strands and dipping it into the saucy-meat-thing. He took a bite from his own fork and Kisame lowered his untaken one. "I may run out of patience, though" He admitted.

"We'll see" Itachi smiled, trying not to be persuaded by the food. Could Kisame cook it? _Maybe I could learn._


	18. Chapter 18

**Epilogue:**

They'd been staying in the demon realm for the past few weeks, somewhere that Itachi hadn't previously had much time to actually discover and like. It was mainly filled with hulking forms and strong arms, the occasional set of horns or entrancing eyes or even a few demonic wings - but overall, there was something charmingly gothic about it all.

Kisame had taken him to one of the bars and apparently demon-fighting was a thing. At first, Itachi had been rather numb to it - watching the various types of demon match up against each other to see who came out victorious. At his indifference to it, Kisame had proven that it was in fact a skill _'and here, watch'._ Itachi had watched, and liked, and actually found rather enthralling. Watching his demon battle it out against a set of wings or horns was gut wrenchingly enjoyable - and a damn fine turn on.

Over the weeks, the vampire - Deidara - had made a pretty good recovery and Itachi had noticed the lighter way that Kisame seemed to carry himself.

He hadn't hidden his worry about the possibility of Sasori leaving, and was more than happy when things had turned out alright. He'd even gone to ask the red head if it was okay for Itachi to come back to their Home with him at some point in the future. Apparently that had only been the first hurdle and gaining Konan's permission would be the second, but after a few days of radio silence she gave them a hesitant all clear - she hadn't said yes, but she hadn't exactly said no and Kisame said it was far better than he'd been expecting.

They had slowly been moving some of their things into the main House along with the others that Itachi had gradually become attached to. He'd been surprised to find that one of Kisame's brothers, Zetsu, was rather well acquainted with Obito - a former Uchiha family member that had, by his fathers accounts, been ostracised and forgotten. He appeared around the House every now and then, but didn't seem to have moved in like the blonde vampire - Deidara - had been.

Slowly, the Family was coming back together and Itachi could notice the slight apprehension in Kisame's face. He'd asked if he was worried, if they'd all hate each other and tear his Family apart. Kisame had explained that they would all respect each others boundaries - it was just the way they worked and that wouldn't be a problem. His main concern had been why they all felt the need to gravitate back home to be with each other, and Konan… but he never went any further to explain why.

They were out in the demon realm, where Kisame owned a small but modern apartment there. The sky was permanently dull-red and the only source of light came from artificial lighting or fire-torches. They were walking down one of the lesser-lit paths when Kisame's hand fisted, his face instantly appearing confused.

"What's wrong?" Itachi frowned. In full-demon form, he lifted his hand up to Itachi's line of sight, but he couldn't make out what the issue was.

"My ring is burning"

0-LINEBREAK-0

The fire always seemed to be burning in the log cabin - Kisame's Home-Home. It seemed as though everyone had convened in the living room, on sofas, chairs, the floor - against the walls…everyone was there and coupled up respectively.

The vampire, Deidara, was looking much better and Itachi was gradually getting a better sense of his character. Sasori seemed to be happy that Kisame was happy - so Itachi was at least faced with an amicable red head and not a hateful one. Sasori and Deidara were both tangled together against the bottom of the sofa, sat on the floor.

The two demons - Hidan and Kakuzu - had been finishing off their Bounty Hunting. Sasuke had been right when he'd said that Hidan was rather forthcoming while drunk, and Itachi had endured it for a few funny facts that he could play with. Kisame hadn't been impressed, but Itachi had blamed it entirely on the fact that it was the only way he knew how to _'bond'_ with that particular member of his family. They were sprawled out of the sofa at opposite ends, their bodies angled towards eachother in the middle.

Obito and Zetsu were oddly compatible and completely inseparable. Every time Itachi saw one, the other wasn't too far behind. While Zetsu was rather indifferent to Itachi's past, Obito was right to hold his suspicions on guard. At first their meetings had been filled with tension, despite neither of the Uchiha's being directly involved in the decision to outcast Obito.

The familiarity of another Uchiha member - friend or not - was actually quite soothing, and Obito didn't seem to be that harmful. They'd agreed that their own separate lives and circumstances had brought them to the same family, and therefore any kind of friendship they should form had to be made on a fresh slate. It was enough, even if they only shared quiet nods of acknowledgement when around each other.

The only person missing was Konan.

"Did anybody else get the impression the burning-ring meant _'get your ass back home, now'?"_ Hidan asked, and Kakuzu nodded slowly in agreement. Kisame instantly began fiddling with his own ring - Itachi didn't need perfect sight in order to see that the rest of the Family had been doing the same. Kisame was still searching for something to help with Itachi's eyes, but so far nothing had come up. While it wasn't as bad as it had been (he suspected his wolf-eyesight had been helping somewhat) - he was feeling the strain more than he used to, even if they were only slightly blurry.

"Maybe she just got delayed" Sasori suggested, but Itachi imagined that Konan wasn't the type to get delayed. She hadn't been around much, another thing for Kisame to worry about.

"Is it possible that isn't what it meant?" Itachi asked quietly, but everybody with a ring shook their heads and Kisame squeezed his hand encouragingly. When Konan did appear, Kisame was the first to move and Itachi was gently shifted from his comfortably tangled position.

"Ko," He said gently, but the blue haired quiet matriarch was clearly out of sorts - even Itachi could sense that. She walked up to Deidara first and gave him a small box.

"Wait," She told him, and Deidara nodded once. She moved to Itachi and Kisame next, where she gave Itachi a similar one and smiled a little at Kisame. Zetsu and Obito had come closer towards the group - having stayed by the outer edges of the room quietly talking to themselves - and Obito received his little box with clear surprise.

Konan still had one in her hand, but she tucked it into her jacket pocked at laced her hands together in front of her.

"You can open them now" She told them, standing in front of the coffee table - the fireplace behind her - looking every inch the powerful witch Itachi had been led to believe she was. Itachi shuffled the box in his hands, feeling for the correct way to open it. When it did open, and his fingers met a cool metallic object, he strained his eyes to see it properly.

"They're on loan," Konan said cautiously. "You'll have to earn them in order to keep them, but you've all deserved them, one way or another"

Kisame picked out the thing from the box and fiddled with the fingers on Itachi's right hand. He separated them, slipping the thing onto his ring finger.

"It's not a proposal, wolf" He murmured quietly, and Itachi knew that he was grinning. "Can you see it?" Itachi nodded, the silver-coloured band - hinted with red - around his finger and with much more clarity than the rest of his blurred vision. If it was silver, it wasn't burning - possibly iron, instead?

Once it was settled, Itachi saw that the rest of the new additions - Deidara and Obito - had both received one too.

"And the other one?" Hidan asked, motioning towards the box in Konan's pocket.

"He's not ready yet" Konan said quietly. Itachi wasn't sure what she meant.

"You're still hoping?" Kisame asked, no judgement in his voice - just a careful observation. Itachi made a note to ask him about it later.

"He just needs time" She said surely. Kisame's body tensed up and Itachi knew that he was surprised. "Which is why I need to go"

"No" Kisame said instantly. "You'll only end up upsetting yourself" Itachi could feel the demon's nerves rolling off him - something so foreign, for the demon to be so vulnerable - but he'd quickly learned that he was very protective about his family - Sasori and Konan most of all.

"Then let me upset myself"

Itachi put his hand on Kisame's arm, a familiar and soothing motion that he hoped would calm him a bit. When he sighed, Itachi hoped that it had worked.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Kakuzu asked. "Leaving us with the new recruits?" That was the going nick-name for the new additions. Obito was the only one who hadn't yet made any signs of permanently staying with Zetsu - of 'moving in' - and Itachi was wondering if he would.

"I trust you all to be sensible" There was a quiet scoff of disbelief from somewhere, but he hadn't caught who from. "The safe houses will still be protected, as will here" Konan said. "My spells will still work, even if I cross the realms, it's not a problem. But in case anything does happen… you have your rings"

"How long?" Zetsu asked, his voice softer than Itachi knew it could be. "Will you be gone, we mean"

"As long as it takes"

"You'll check in?" Sasori inputted, his tone concerned. "Promise you'll at least do that?"

"Every week" She nodded in agreement and the heavy weighted atmosphere in the room seemed to lift.

"Human realm?" Kakuzu asked; Kisame let another quick sigh escape from his lips and Itachi knew it was another sore point he didn't like.

"Most likely" She replied.

"If you don't call back," Kisame said, like a bargaining father. "I will end him" Itachi remained still, Kisame's limbs still close by and stiff and ready to act. Kisame had slowly been telling him more about his Family and how they had come to be - he'd started with Sasori and they were currently discussing Hidan, but Itachi was considering asking for Konan's. It might help him understand why the demon was reacting so much to her leaving.

"I know" She whispered. "Every Sunday, I promise" Then everybody moved up for a hug or some kind of comfort. Sasori was there first, and then Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu… Kisame eventually shifted, as if he'd resigned to the fact that there was nothing more he could do - and Itachi followed suit. Kisame hugged her and she awkwardly hugged his hulking frame back.

"If you need anything, yell" He murmured, and Itachi smiled at his acceptance. When she turned to him, expecting a hug no doubt, Itachi offered one with as much courage as he could muster. He could barely hug his own brother, but he found that hugging this tiny, blue haired, female witch was actually rather easy.

"Watch out for him, okay?" She asked softly.

"Of course" He told her, backing away so Zetsu could hug her too. Even Obito did - and Itachi was glad that it seemed to be as easy for him as it had been for himself. When they'd finished, she was crying.

"If it doesn't' work, it doesn't work" Kisame told her. Itachi supposed it was supposed to sound reassuring, but the demon was clearly holding back his nerves again. "You still come back to your Home"

"I know" She smiled. "So, now you all feel sorry for me, can I pick the movie tonight?"

"No fucking way!" Hidan leapt up first and then the others, some for the TV remote, others for the bookcase that housed the films they enjoyed, but Konan stayed where she was - laughing at them all - as they tried to argue it out between them. Itachi turned to Kisame with a grin, the demon clutching tightly to his hand.

 **THE END.**


End file.
